GO TO HELL - I HOPE NOT!

I. If we only realized what it really means to tell a person to go to hell, we would never say it

A. Satan has caricaturized hell into some sort of cartoon comic strip

1. A person with horns, shoveling coal into a furnace

2. Is that a true picture of hell or is it trivializing its real meaning?

B. Keep in mind that hell is a real place, but it is not the place in which to end your journey on earth

1. Isaiah 5:14, "Hell hath enlarged herself and opened her mouth without measure."

2. Hell, at this very moment is receiving souls, yet it never gets full.

3. It just enlarges itself. According to Proverbs 27:20, hell and destruction are never full.

4. Hell is prepared to swallow you up unless you have received the gift of eternal life

II. Why Preach About Hell? People Don't Want to Hear About It.

A. Jesus preached almost twice as much about hell as He did about Heaven.

1. II Peter 3:9, "He is longsuffering, not willing that anyone should perish."

2. God wants people to repent and trust Christ as Savior.

3. John 3:16, "...whosoever believes in Him should not perish..."

4. God doesn't want you to go to hell, He has done everything He can to keep you out of hell.

B. God sent His Son to die on a cross, pay the penalty for your sins, rise from the dead and offer you the free gift of eternal life thru Christ Jesus our Lord.

1. Having no inkling of how horrible and gruesome hell really is, people make jokes about hell and draw hideous but humorous cartoons about it.

2. People jokingly ask if we are trying to scare the hell out of them. My answer is "Yes!" If I can scare a person from going to this terrible place, I gladly plead guilty.

III. What is Hell? It Is the Vengeance of God. II Thess. 1:8

A. Jesus is coming in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those that know not God and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1. The Bible says that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God.

2. Hell is when God's anger is unleashed on those who have not trusted His Son, Jesus Christ.

B. Hell is not a picnic or playground where friends meet together and have a good time.

1. It is the punishment of God on those who do not obey the Gospel.

2. And to those who refuse to receive Christ.

IV. What Is Hell Like?

A. II Peter 2:4 calls it a Place of Darkness.

1. Jude 13 calls it blackness of darkness.

2. You will not be able to see your friends, much less party with them.

3. You will see nothing but darkness - I went to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. After going deep into the cave, they shut out the lights. I know now what the Bible means when is says, "...a darkness that could be felt."

4. Jude calls it blackness of darkness. It isn't just dark, it is black.

B. Hell is a Place of Fire.

1. It is not popular to preach on hell fire - we don't run on opinion polls if you are God's anointed preacher.

2. Jesus said it was a place of fire, that's good enough for me.

3. Matthew 18:8 calls it everlasting fire

4. Luke 16 says, "The rich man lifted up His eyes and said to Abraham, I am tormented in this flame."

5. Jude 7 calls it eternal fire. In other words, it never goes out, it just keeps burning.

6. Rev. 20:10 call it the lake of fire and brimstone.

7. Matthew 13:42 calls it a furnace of fire.

8. Even the smallest burn is exceedingly painful, imagine being thrown in a furnace of fire.

C. Well then, why aren't we consumed by such a fire?

1. Remember the bush burning as Moses came upon it? It burned and burned but was not consumed.

2. The person who ends up in this fiery hell will burn and burn and yet not be consumed.

D. Hell is a Place of Torment.

1. Matthew 8:12 says, "...there shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 13:42 says essentially the same thing.

2. Imagine for eternity hearing the screaming and wailing of people around you, and then you add your own screams to the rest.

3. Luke 16:19-31 the rich man asked that Lazarus come and dip his finger in the water and cool his tongue, "...for I am tormented in this flame."

4. Romans 14:11, "...the smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever."

5. The smoke, the fire, the weeping and screaming never stops.

E. Hell Is a Bottomless Pit (Rev. 20:3)

1. When you are cast into this fiery pit, you just keep falling and tumbling.

2. There is no bottom upon which to rest your feet.

3. There is nothing to grab onto. What a horrible feeling, falling and falling forever.

4. There is no place to rest or sit down. No Lazy Boy Chairs in hell.

F. Hell is a Place of Memory.

1. For all eternity people who go to hell will remember they didn't have to go there.

2. For all eternity they will remember every sermon that pointed them to Jesus.

3. You will remember this message and my face for all eternity - that is punishment enough!

4. You will remember every person who witnessed to you and every tract that you neglected to read.

V. Who Will Be In Hell?

A. II Thess. 1:8 says that those who obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1. The unbelieving, the abominable, murders, whore mongers, sorcerers, idolater and liars shall have their part in the lake of fire which burns forever.

2. If you die without Jesus, that is the crowd that you will spend eternity with.

3. You don't have to go there for it was not prepared for your, but for the devil and his angels.

B. You say, "I can't believe there is a place like that."

1. Same Bible that teaches you of a beautiful heaven, teaches you that this horrible place exists.

2. If you to go hell, it's because you made the choice.