HELL FIRE, THE ETERNAL CONSEQUENCE OF WORLDLINESS!

Many Christians do not enter Heaven because they refuse to do away with worldliness in their lives. 

Without getting rid of worldliness in your life, you can never be holy, and without holiness you cannot enter Heaven (Heb. 12:24; Rev. 21:27).  

Listen to the sad words of Paul concerning one of the young men who travelled with him:  

"...Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world."

James 4:4 says, “…know ye not that the friendship of the world (world system) is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”

If you miss Heaven because of your love for the things of this world, is it really worth it? Jesus said, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mk. 8:36-37)

The destination of everyone that loves the world is hell fire. So today, we are going to look at - “HELL FIRE, THE ETERNAL CONSEQUENCE OF WORLDLINESS!”

Everyone on earth is destined to die one day! Everyone on earth has an expiring date (Gen. 5). No one will live here on earth forever. Psalm 89:48 says, “No one can live (here on earth) forever; all will die. No one can escape the power of the grave.”

“…it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27).

About 7.2 million people die and leave this earth every 24 hours. That means that about 5000 people die every minute. That implies that about 84 people die every second.

The question is not that these people die. The big question is where do these people go to after they die? When someone dies physically, his spirit-man will go to either Heaven or Hell.

According to the Lord Jesus Christ, most people die and go to hell. Jesus said, "...for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and MANY there be which go in thereat" (Matt. 7:13).

There are two types of death: (1) physical death, and (2) spiritual death. What really happens at physical death? Man is a spirit. He possesses a soul. And he lives in a house (on this earth) called the body (1 Thess. 5:23).

Physical death is defined as a separation of the spirit-man of a person from his physical body. Spiritual death is the separation of your spirit-man from God Almighty. Remember that your soul is an integral part of your spirit-man.

At the point of physical death, the spirit-man of the person detaches from his/her physical body and go to live eternally with Jesus in Heaven, or eternally with Satan in hell, depending on the choices the person made while he/she was here on earth.

As a child of God, when you die physically, your spirit will come out of your physical body. Your spirit-man, which is the real you, will then put on a glorious body shining brightly like that of Jesus Christ. Thereafter you’ll be dressed in sparkling white robe.

For the believer – a person that accepted Christ as his/her Lord and personal Saviour while on earth, death means the beginning of eternal life with Jesus Christ in Heaven. But for the unbeliever - a person that rejected Christ as his/her Lord and personal Saviour while on earth, death means the beginning of eternal life with Satan in hell.

The big question is: Is there really a place called Hell or is it just an illusion? Yes! Hell is a real place burning with the wrath of God. Hell is a typical expression of the wrath of God.

Hell is not the figment of anyone’s imagination but it is a real place and it is very unpleasant. Hell is a terrible place. It is a place of fear, sadness, torment, cries, wailing, screaming, and gnashing of teeth.

Hell is the final Bus Stop for the wicked. Hell is the final destination or the eternal home of those who rejected Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour while they were in the earth. Hell is also the eternal home of the children of God that refused to do away with worldliness while on earth. These ones could not keep their garment of righteousness unspotted and unwrinkled.

Has hell always been in existence? No! Prior to the rebellion of Archangel Lucifer and his one third of all angelic beings, long before the creation of humanity, there was no hell in existence because there was no need for such a place.

But at the time of their rebellion and expulsion from Heaven, hell (Sheol-Hades) was created as part of the cataclysmic curse which an offended God poured out upon His created – the earth in particular, since it had been the domain of Lucifer and his angels.

Hell was not prepared for man but for the devil and his angels!  “Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41).

If people were to understand the horrendous fury of that fiery dungeon called hell, they would surely make urgent preparations and adjustments in their lives so as to avoid going there.

The truth about hell is not pleasant, especially to those who make no spiritual preparations to meet a holy God in peace with “clean hands and a pure heart.”

Psalm 24:3-4 says, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His holy place? 4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.”

Hell is a real place as physical as Abuja. The Scriptures speak of hell in such definite terms as: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Ps. 9:17).

“…Ye generation of vipers, how shall ye escape the damnation of hell?” (Matt. 23:33).

Look at this true story: A devout atheist, Dr. Rawlings, who was a specialist in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular disease, resuscitated many people who were declared clinically dead. Dr. Rawlings considered all religion “hocus-pocus” and death nothing more than a painless extinction. But something happened in 1977 that brought a dramatic change in the life of Dr. Rawlings! He was resuscitating a man terrified and screaming – descending down into the flames of hell:

“Each time he regained heartbeat and respiration, the patient screamed, “I am in hell!” He was terrified and pleaded with Dr. Rawlings to help him. At this point, Dr. Rawlings was scared to death…… then he noticed a genuinely alarmed look on the patient’s face. The look on his face was worse than the usual expression seen in death.  This patient had a grotesque grimace expressing sheer horror! His pupils were much dilated, and he was perspiring and trembling. He looked as if his hair was “on end.”

Then still another strange thing happened. He said, “Don’t you understand? I am in hell… Please don’t let me go to hell! This patient was so serious, and it finally dawned on Dr. Rawlings that he was indeed in trouble. This patient was in such a panic that Dr. Rawlings had never seen before” (Maurice Rawlings, Beyond Death’s Door – Thomas Nelson Inc., 1979, pp. 3).

Yes! There is a place called hell! In Numbers 16, the Bible gives the account of people falling into hell alive! "And THE EARTH OPENED HER MOUTH, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive INTO THE PIT, and the EARTH CLOSED UPON THEM:" (Num. 16:32-33).

There is actually a place called hell! Dr. Rawlings said, “No one who could have heard his screams and saw the look of terror on his face could doubt for a single second that this man was actually in a place called hell!

The Bible continually warns of a place called hell. There are over 162 references in the New Testament alone which warns of hell. And over 70 of these references were uttered by Jesus Christ!

In Luke 16 Jesus gives a frightening picture of hell (Lk. 16:19-31). From the above Scripture, the Lord tells us about two places: Heaven and hell, the salvation or the condemnation.

There is no intermediate place after death. Purgatory does not exist. This is the supposed place where men exist for a little while after they have departed from the earth before they go to Heaven. Limbo, the supposed intermediate place for children, does not exist.

The memory of people in hell is always in them! Notice that all those in hell have all their senses intact. The smell of hell is terrible! In hell the smell of dead and decaying flesh hang thickly in the air. The cries of the living dead, mixed with moans and hideous screams come from every direction.

The worms are not harmed by the fire of hell. People in hell have the same feelings and thoughts as when they were on earth.

They remember their families and friends. This is because it is the spirit-man of a person that is in hell, and inside the spirit-man is the soul of that person. And your emotion is an integral part of your soul.

In hell, people are tormented with memories of what they did while they were on Earth. Those who have known the Lord but still allowed worldliness to bring them to hell will be tormented even much more.

When a soul arrives hell, there is no more hope, no life, and no love. Look at the experience of someone who has already arrived Hell:

Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in TORMENTS, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom… (Lk. 16:19-31).

Hell is forever! All who enter hell abandon all hope! The horror of hell for even one second is unbearable and it is FOREVER!

In Matthew 25:41, Jesus says: "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting FIRE. . ."

Revelation 14:11 says, "The smoke of their TORMENT ascendeth up for EVER AND EVER: and they have NO REST DAY NOR NIGHT."

The Bible warns of the eternity and permanence of hell! Jesus Christ spoke more on hell than any other subject in the Bible. Just look at how Jesus described hell:

1. "fire" (Matt 7:19, 13:40, 25:41)               
2. "everlasting fire" (Matt 18:8, 25:41)
3. everlasting chains (Jude 1:6)
4. eternal judgment (Heb. 6:2)
5. eternal fire (Jude 1:7)
6. "hell fire" (Matt 5:22, 18:9, Mark 9:47)
7. "damnation" (Matt 23:14, Mark 12:40, Luke 20:47)
8. "damnation of hell" (Matt 23:33)
9. "eternal damnation" (Mk. 3:29)
10. "resurrection of damnation" (Jn. 5:29)
11. "furnace of fire" (Matt. 13:42, 50
12. "the fire that never shall be quenched" (Mk. 9:43, 45)
13. "the fire is not quenched" (Mk. 9:44, 46, 48)
14. "Where their worm dieth not" (Mk. 9:44, 46, 48)
15. "wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matt 13:42, 50)
16. "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matt 8:12, 22:13, 25:30)
17. "torments" (Luke 16:23)
18. "tormented in this flame" (Lk. 16:24)
19. "place of torment" (Lk. 6:28).
20. "outer darkness" (Matt 8:12, 22:13).
21. mist of darkness reserved forever (2 Pet. 2:17)
22. the blackness of darkness forever (Jude 1:13).
23. "everlasting punishment" (Matt. 25:46).

What if Jesus is right?

Hebrews 9:27 says, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this THE JUDGEMENT:"

It is appointed unto man once to die. And one day YOU will die and leave this planet. “And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments . . .” (Lk. 16:24).

And you soon realize, that Jesus Christ was right! There is a place called hell. And you are there forever!

And you say, “But God is a God of LOVE. . . Why would a GOD OF LOVE send me to hell?” Yes, God is a GOD OF LOVE, but God is also a HOLY GOD. A HOLY GOD demands payment for sin. Otherwise God would NOT and could NOT be HOLY.

Because God is holy, sin MUST be condemned. Joshua 24:19 says, ". . He is an HOLY GOD;. . . He will NOT forgive your transgressions nor your sins."

But friend I have good news for you! God does not want you in hell. Hell was not made for man. Matthew 25:41 says, hell was, ". . . prepared for the devil and his angels:"

Because God is a GOD OF LOVE, and He LOVED YOU so much, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to die a cruel death on a cross to pay the price a HOLY GOD demands for your sins.

Romans 5:8 says, "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

God does not send anyone to hell. You choose hell when you reject Jesus Christ. When you refuse God's love gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ.

For instance, Millionaire Ted Turner, said in an interview, "I’m looking forward to dying and being cast into Hell. That's where I belong." You say, he’s a fool! But friend, when you say "No"; to Jesus Christ and His payment for your sin, you are saying the same thing! You’re telling God, “I don’t need Jesus Christ, I’ll pay for my sins in hell!”

If you reject God’s gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, one day you will be in hell!

Jesus Christ gave a solemn warning in Matthew 7:21-23, "Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven. . . MANY will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity."

Hell fire is not for a few days, a few months, a few years or even a million years, but FOREVER! You will beg for death itself to come and take you away but to no avail! You will curse the day you were born but that won’t change anything anymore!

Revelation 14:11 says, "The smoke of their TORMENT ascendeth up for EVER AND EVER: and they have NO REST DAY NOR NIGHT."

What in this world could possibly be worth eternity in hell? Nothing ever! No wonder Jesus Christ said in Mark 8:36: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mk. 8:36-37)

God has something far better than words can describe for those who love Him. 1 Corinthians 2:9 says: ". . . Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him" (1 Cor. 2:9-10).

Friend, there is a place called hell! And, if you continually refuse do away with worldliness in your life, just as sure as you live and breathe, one day you will wake up in hell!

Don't wait until you die to find out the truth about Hell! Tomorrow may be too late! Proverbs 27:1 says, "Boast not thyself of tomorrow: for thou KNOWEST NOT what a day may bring forth."

One thing is CERTAIN: you will DIE one day,  today, tomorrow, a week, a month, a year, 5 years, 10 years, 20 years, 50 years, ONE THING IS CERTAIN “ …it is appointed unto man once TO DIE . . ."

Let me ask you personally: Has there ever been a time you have taken time to deal with worldliness in your life? If not, you are on your way to hell! Don't let anyone convince you that when you die it will be all over! 

The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27: "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this THE JUDGMENT."

Revelation 20:15 says: "And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the LAKE OF FIRE."

All who enter hell, abandon all hope! The horror of hell, for even one second is unbearable!

Jesus says in Matthew 25:41: ". . . Depart from me, ye cursed, into EVERLASTING fire . . .”

Revelations 14:11: "The smoke of their TORMENT ascendeth up for EVER AND EVER: and they have NO REST DAY NOR NIGHT."

I pray that hell will never be your portion! I therefore, challenge you to rise up, if you have not accepted God’s unspeakable Gift, Jesus Christ, as your Lord and Saviour, quickly repent of your sins and receive Him right away without any further delay into your life. If you are already a Christian, but you have not dealt with worldliness in your life, quickly repent of your sins and receive God’s forgiveness (1 Jn. 1:9). Live according to God’s Word, stand for the truth always.

Don’t wait until you die to find out the truth about Hell! Tomorrow may be too late! Proverbs 27:1 says, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth” (NASU).

Hurry beloved! Time is running out! Don’t be caught dead without Jesus Christ. Don’t be caught dead without dealing with worldliness in your life. So hurry and make peace with God right now so that you can experience the ultimate breakthrough – Heaven at last!

Watch out for the next edition of Good news from the Pulpit!

Your friend I. I. MADUBUNYI (Senior Pastor)                                19^th Mar., 2017