PLEASE LISTEN TO REASON

Better safe than sorry.

Yesterday, while watching the evening news, I saw the report of a plane crash in Ohio; apparently, all ten people on board died. They showed the plane on fire with flames going everywhere; it was heart-wrenching to watch. Then it occurred to me that the passengers were burning with the plane; it scared me and broke my heart. Such loss!

That fire eventually went out, and the pain and fear the passengers felt eventually stopped, because they were dead. However, there is a fire that someday will burn forever and never go out. Whoever is in it will never stop feeling the pain and discomfort, and boy, does it scare me. Can you imagine burning in a fire that never goes out? I can and I’m sure you can too. But does it scare you like it scares me? I’m not sure, but what I do know is that some people don’t like to talk about hell. Others believe it is a scare tactic to get them to do something they don’t want to do, and still there are others who don’t believe hell exists at all, and if it did, a loving God will not send anybody there.

The Bible is the Word of God, and it is 100% true. Nothing it has said in the past ever failed; everything has been fulfilled exactly. Consider the life of Jesus. Years before His birth, His coming, birth, life, and death were all prophesied in detail, and all happened as was prophesied. When Jesus was arrested in the Garden, before His bogus trial and crucifixion, He asked those who arrested Him a question, and answered it Himself. He asked them, “Am I some dangerous revolutionary, that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? Why didn’t you arrest me in the temple? I was there among you teaching every day. But these things are happening to fulfill what the Scriptures say about me” (Mark 14:48-49 NLT). On another occasion, He told His listeners, “I did not come to abolish the Law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved” (Matthew 5:17-18 NLT). The proofs of the authenticity of the Bible are overwhelming! The more you read it, the more convincing you’ll find it. For this reason, whatever the Bible says is going to happen, will happen, hell included.

So then, understanding that hell is for real, it makes a lot of sense to discuss it. Although some people would rather not talk about it, many will go there (see Matthew 7:13), regardless of what they’d rather do or not do.  Once they are there, their doom is sealed. They cannot escape, make an appeal, get a new trial, or bribe their way out. Once they set foot in hell, it’ll be a done deal; hell will be their final and permanent destination for all eternity. Recently, two criminals escaped from a maximum security prison in New York with the help of a female prison worker. I can assure you, that scenario will not happen in hell; once in hell, no one can escape from there! Isn’t this scary?

If you are reading this, it means you still have time to make certain you won’t go to hell. But please don’t wait another minute. 

Why go to hell when you don’t have to? If you’ve never placed your faith in Jesus for salvation, you are heading for hell:  the place many don’t want to talk about. Unfortunately, choosing to not talk about it will not change the truth; what the Bible says is what will happen. So if you’re not sure you’ll go to heaven when you die, please stop whatever you are doing and ask God to forgive your sins and save you through Jesus Christ His Son. If at the end of life on earth you discover there is no hell (which there is), you’ll have nothing to lose. As the old adage goes, “Better safe than sorry.” In Jesus’ prayer for believers, He said, “This is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ the one you sent to earth” (John 17:3 NLT).   

Those who put their faith in Jesus are given the assurance of forgiveness. “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him” (John 3:18 NLT). Also, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 NLT), and “I am writing to you who are God’s children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus” (1 John 2:12 NLT). The Bible also assures believers that their names are written in the Lamb’s (Jesus’) Book of Life (see Luke 10:20; Hebrews 12:23; Revelation 20:15, 21:27).

I’m pleading with you in the name of Jesus to call on Him today for forgiveness of sin and salvation through His finished work on the cross. He died for you because He loves you! Hell is not a figment of the imagination; it is a real place of torment. Don’t chance it!