Greetings to you, my friend! I’m Mack Lyon. The program’s a Bible study In Search of the Lord's Way. We’re so glad you have joined us today. You see, we believe the Bible to be the word of God, and in it, we’ll find His way of salvation and His way of life. Stay tuned.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, friend, for choosing our program of Bible study at this time. We know how many choices you have, so it’s encouraging to all of us that you have chosen ours.
Phil Sanders has researched it and he says, “Three out of every ten Americans think there is no such place as hell.” “Some think they will cease to exist when they die, and others think they’ll be reincarnated. One in four Americans have ‘no idea’ what will happen to them when they die. But, my friend, “What if hell is real? Would it really make any difference in our lives?” That’s what our message is about today.
If you think you might want a free printed copy or a CD or an audio cassette tape of it, simply mail your request to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083 or by e-mail to searchtv@searchtv.org. If you would like just to call, our toll-free telephone number is 1-800-321-8633. Or, you may access it at our website www.searchtv.org. What do you say; you let us hear from you this week. Our Scripture text for Phil’s message about the reality of hell is Revelation chapter 20, verses 11 to 15.
Hello! I’m Phil Sanders, and our reading from the word of God today comes from the book of Revelation chapter 20, verses 11 to 15. “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” That’s our reading from the book of Revelation. Let’s pray. Oh, Lord, we are grateful that You through Your love have prepared for us a time when we can come and live with You forever. And, Father, we pray that each one will consider his life and want to live with You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen!
This study today, deals with our eternal future, and it affects every person. We are all going to face an eternity someday. According to a 2004 Fox News poll, 87 percent of Americans believe in heaven, but just a little over 70 percent believe in hell. But you know what; when you ask them it is only a few people, who believe that they are going to be lost in hell. Everybody else thinks they are going to be saved. How tragic it would be to think that you’re saved when in fact you are not. Now, while most folks know that there is a hell, they ignore it. But if we could somehow open the graves of the dead and ask them about Hades, that unseen place where the spirits of the dead go, we might be more inclined to think about our future. Because you see, whether those people were in a place of comfort or in a place of torment, they would say with one loud, clear voice, “Do everything you can to please God and go to heaven; and do everything you can to stay out of this place of torment.” I wonder if we really take our eternity seriously enough. Moses, whenever he was singing his song toward the end of his life in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 29, he sang, “Would that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would discern their future!” What will happen to us when we die? Well, the Bible says in Hebrews 9, verse 27 that it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.
Jesus said in John 5, verses 28 to 29, “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” Now, at the resurrection, we are going to stand before the throne of Jesus our Lord. You remember that Jesus said in Matthew 25, verses 31to 34, “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”’ Now he tells them that because they were there to feed the hungry; they were there to give them something to drink when they were thirsty; they clothed them; they went to visit them when they were sick; they went to visit them when they were in prison. And, of course, He blesses them. Now, then He says in verse 41: “He will say to those on His left, the goats, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.”’ And He says that because they didn’t feed the hungry; and they didn’t give water to those who were thirsty. They didn’t bless them by giving them clothes; or visit them when they were sick; or visit them in prison. And the Bible says in verse 46 that: “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
My friend, there are two destinies after the resurrection and judgment. Now, the blessed group will have joy is heaven, but the other group will be cast in hell. Now, the word hell or gehenna appears twelve times in Scripture, and mostly from the lips of Jesus. Some people think preaching about hell is cruel or uncouth; but Jesus preached on it, and He preached on it more than anybody, because people needed to hear about it. Heaven and hell ought to be important to you and to me, since we’ll spend eternity in one place or the other. Now, I find no joy in thinking about the final end of people who will not believe or sinners. You’ll remember that even God has said in Ezekiel 33, verse 11, “Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” Perhaps you remember the broken heart of Jesus as he wept over Jerusalem. He said in Matthew 23, verse 37, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!” Oh, I tell you there are people who will not come to the Lord; they won’t repent of their sins; some will not obey the truth; and some won’t serve God. And it breaks God’s heart to think about the choices that these people have made. My friend, Jesus could have remained silent about hell and just let them perish, but he didn’t do that. You see if hell is real, it is cruel not to tell people about it. Cruel preachers avoid the subject of sin and hell. But, Jesus didn’t do that. That’s why Jesus, because He loved you, spoke out on the matter. He did it out of love and truth.
Listen to these warnings of our Lord. Mark 9, verses 43 to 48 says, “And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to that unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’” Jesus is here in this passage warning us about the consequences of sin. It is worse to be lost in sin than to lose an eye, or a hand, or a foot. On another occasion Jesus warned in Matthew 10, verse 28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Now, I tell you losing your life is tragic, but it is even more tragic to be lost in hell.
When the Bible speaks of the eternal punishment of sinners and unbelievers, it uses phrases like “outer darkness,” “weeping and gnashing of teeth,” an “unquenchable fire,” an “eternal fire,” and the place “where the worm does not die.” Hell is a place of utter separation from God. When Paul was describing the second coming of Jesus, and really it was a frightening for those who reject God, well, this inspired apostle said in the book of 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, verses 7 to 9, “and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” Can you imagine how sad, how sad it would be to spend eternity separated from God; to know that God is over there and that He closes his ears toward your prayers; to be all through eternity, and never know a closeness with God again? You see, when people close their hearts to God in this life, they need to understand that God closes His ear to them in the next one.
Well, what can one expect of the future? Well, that, my friend, depends upon you. The Bible says in the book of Romans chapter 2, verses 6 to 11 that: “He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but there will be glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.” My friend, those who choose to rebel against God; they put themselves first; they ignore him and put him out of their minds; these people will indeed face eternal punishment according to the Bible. You remember Matthew 25 and verse 46. It says that they will go away into eternal punishment. The Bible warns us about where sin is going to lead. Sin is your enemy, my friend, and when any preacher talks to you and says something is sinful, you just remember that that sinful behavior, that sinful thought, that sinful idea can lead you astray and can cost you your soul. The book of Hebrews chapter 10, verses 26 and 27 says, “For if we go on sinning deliberately,” that is we know what we are doing and we just keep on doing it, and we do this, “after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” Verse 31 concludes, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” My friend, there are times in people’s lives when they just keep pushing and keep pushing into sin. And they forget that Jesus died on the cross for them. You know, if you reject Jesus and his death on the cross for you, and you deliberately sin and you go on sinning, who else is going to come down here and die for you. If you reject the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, no other sacrifice will do.
Now, sometimes people ask if hell is really eternal. Well, the New Testament uses the words aion and aionios, that is eternity and eternal, 141 times to speak about someone or something that is unceasing, endless, or perpetual. Now, if the word eternal means “without end” when it is applied to the blessings of eternal life as going to heaven, it must also mean “without end” when describing the eternal punishment of the lost. The Bible describes our eternal punishment in the book of Revelation chapter 14, verses 9 to 11. It says there, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur (that is brimstone) in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
Now, someone at this point asks, “well, isn’t all of this talk about torment and fire and brimstone and outer darkness and weeping and gnashing of teeth, isn’t all of this just a figure of speech?” Well, there are many figures of speech in the Bible and some deal with the end times. Many people fall into doctrinal error, because they interpret a passage literally when they should interpret it figuratively or they interpret it figuratively when it should be understood literally. Many think because a passage is figurative, that this somehow denies what the passage is trying to say. But this is not right at all. Jesus didn’t use figures of speech to deny what he was saying. He used them to emphasize the points he was making. You see, he felt it important enough to emphasize with a figure of speech.
We learn a little more about this future punishment in the book of Revelation chapter 20, verses 13 to 15. The Bible says, “And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” I can’t imagine anything worse than going to hell; it is a horrible thought; and I don’t wish that for anybody. The only thing that’s worse than being lost would be that I led somebody else to go there. I can’t imagine anything worse than hearing some small, sweet voice behind me say, “Daddy, daddy is that you?” You see, it’s not just you or me that’s involved here; it is also those who we love and influence.
Now, at this point somebody says, “Well, how can a loving God send anyone to hell and punish them forever?” Well, this is an important question and it deserves an answer. First, God did not make hell for people; He made it for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25 and verse 41). If anyone is lost, it is by his own choice to live in sin and rebellion toward God. Second, God must punish sin to be a holy and righteous God. When sinners follow evil throughout their lives and follow it long enough to become enslaved to it and unchangeably set in their thinking and their ways, they will likely always hate God and hate righteousness, and God just lets them go. Third, God has done everything possible to keep men from being lost. Now, before you think that God is unloving, remember that Jesus suffered on the cross. He suffered not for his own sins but for your sins and mine. Jesus has demonstrated his love by dying for us, so that we wouldn’t have to suffer forever in hell. He took our place on the cross, so that we could be set free from sin and death. If there were no answer for hell, we would all be in a sorrowful condition; but Jesus died to give us a solution to the threat of hell.
The Bible says in 1Timothy 2, verses 3 and 4 that God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” I’m thankful for that. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost, so they might not go to that place. Jesus chose twelve apostles and he gave us the church, and he gave us the task of taking the gospel to every person. He doesn’t want anyone to be lost eternally; he wants you for his own. Now, I have no desire to see anybody be lost, and that is why I have spent my whole life preaching. And that’s why churches of Christ and so many of my brothers and sisters in the Lord, these many individuals support this program, because you see, we are in the saving business, teaching people about the love of God and the blood of Christ. And part of preaching is helping people to see how sin destroys and how God has opened a door for them. My friend, the loss of your soul is the worst thing that can happen to you. I don’t have words to describe the utter hopelessness and horror of that place the Scriptures calls “hell.” Rather than reject the Lord, listen to his warnings and come to him. I pray you’ll come to him by loving and believing in the Lord Jesus, repenting of your sins, and by being baptized in water for the remission of your sins; and when you do this the blood of Jesus will cleanse you. My friend, you may need to come back to him. I want everyone everywhere to be a citizen of heaven. And one day the only question that will matter will be whether I hear: “Well done” or “Depart from me.” My friend, what will you hear? Let’s pray. Oh, Lord, help us always to love you and to keep our hearts sensitive to your will. Father, we are thankful that you have a place in heaven for us, and may we do all that we can to please you and to be able to live with you forever. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Say, you know that Phil Sanders speaks with conviction and with a love for souls, doesn’t he? I love it and I love him! None of us plans to go to hell. Of course we don’t. But, we had better be preparing not to go there, don’t you think? I read the names of people much younger than I in the obituary column almost daily. When I leave here I want to go to heaven; and oh, it would be a joy without limits to have you go along.
If you would like a free printed copy, a CD or an audio cassette tape of Phil Sander’s message today, you may have it by mailing your request for it to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083. Our toll-free telephone number for your use is 1-800-321-8633. Our e-mail address is searchtv@searchtv.org. You may access our program again at website www.searchtv.org. Visit us there.
We are happy for your presence today and we pray God’s blessings on you. God bless you now. We love you.
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