An Inescapable Reality
“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’ ” - (Matthew 25:41)
Often whenever the subject of judgment and hell comes up, so does this question: If God is all-loving, then why would He send people to hell?
Answer: because He is a God of love and justice. Hell was invented, if you will, for the devil and his angels. Do you think the devil deserves to go to hell? Of course he does.
And if a person ends up in hell, it is because they have rejected, through their lifetime, the offer of forgiveness through Jesus Christ that required the death of the Son of God on the cross. They rejected it again and again. It is not that God sends them to hell as much as they go there voluntarily.
J. I. Packer said, “Scripture sees hell as self-chosen. . . . Hell appears as God’s gesture of respect for human choice. All receive what they actually chose, either to be with God forever, worshiping Him, or without God forever, worshiping themselves.”
Also, C. S. Lewis wrote, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: Those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in hell, choose it. Without that self-choice, there could be no hell.”
Heaven and hell do exist. And in that final day, if you are a believer, God will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord” (see Matthew 25:21, 23).
But if you are not a believer, God will say, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:23).
Everyone will meet Jesus Christ one day. It is inescapable and unavoidable. And if you don’t meet Him as Savior, then you ultimately will meet Him as Judge.
Copyright © 2013 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
and
Listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.
Watch Greg Laurie's weekly television broadcast on LightSource.com.
SPECIAL OFFER
“Do you value the teaching and encouragement you receive from A New Beginning with Greg Laurie?
Is there credible evidence that Jesus really is the Son of God?
Retracing his own spiritual journey from atheism to faith, Lee Strobel, former legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, cross-examines a dozen experts with doctorates who are specialists in the areas of old manuscripts, textual criticism, and biblical studies.
Strobel challenges them with questions like How reliable is the New Testament? Does evidence for Jesus exist outside the Bible? Is there any reason to believe the resurrection was an actual event?
