There seems to be a tangle within the Christian church today
around speculation on whether or not God holds true to his claim of some to
hell and some to heaven. After all, the New Testament is filled with claims of
a loving, merciful God. A God that rescues His people and keeps them from harm.
But there is a key to all this merciful love, underserving grace, and perfect
rescue. That key is Jesus…true, genuine, unwavering faith in the Savior,
acknowledging that without Him, we are helpless and destined for hell. If we
don’t have Jesus on our final day of judgment…if we don’t have Jesus professing
that he knows us and that we are his, then we are out of luck. Period. It seems
at times we silly humans try to logically decipher God’s Word as if to somehow
uncover some hidden truth that perhaps this whole hell thing is not so real…that
perhaps this hell concept is just a gentle warning to keep us in line and that
God is not going to really follow through with it. After all, the idea of hell
makes us uncomfortable…and an uncomfortable message is not typically too
popular. But when we look at verses 4-5, we see that God means business: “For if God did not spare angels when they
sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held
for judgment; if he did not spare the
ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people.” As flawed
men and women, I think it’s important to acknowledge God’s superiority when it comes to
determining right and wrong. God knows what he is doing…he knows how to rescue
and how to condemn…and he never gets it wrong. As Christians, we need to stop sugar coating
His message to please ourselves. Hell is real. Heaven is real. And we have the
choice to follow the Savior into heaven or get onboard that one-way, escalator
down into hell. My prayer is that we never lose hold of Jesus…that we cling to
him with genuine dependence and discipline…and have the courage to share the
real truth with others. To God be the glory!
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