esus spoke much on hell.... more than he did on heaven
Jesus says in Mark 9:43-47,
"And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: and if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire"
Jesus took hell very seriously - He said that if your hand, foot or eye caused you to sin and offend God, remove them, if that would keep you out of hell! NOTE: Jesus was making a point about the seriousness of sin and not suggesting that we actually do these things. One reason for this is that if we followed Jesus advice to the letter, we would have to remove our brains for all their evil thoughts. Jesus was not asking us to kill ourselves and therefore break the 6th commandment which says, "Thou shalt not kill". You see, Hell is such a place of torment that if you could avoid going there by your own human efforts (which you cannot), you should be willing to take such drastic actions as removing a hand or eye. In short, don't go there. Why? Read on and see...
CONSIDER THE FEARFUL PICTURE JESUS PAINTED OF HELL!
There is nothing in Jesus' words to suggest that hell is not a real place - quite the opposite:
This then is how Jesus spoke of hell. Jesus said that...
hell and fire go together as "hell fire" Matt 5:22, 18:9, Mark 9:47 hell is a place of "fire" Matt 7:19, 13:40, 25:41 hell is the "furnace of fire" Matt 13:42, 50
hell is "the fire that never shall be quenched" Mark 9:43, 45 hell is the place where "the fire is not quenched" Mark 9:44, 46, 48 hell is a place of "everlasting fire" Matt 18:8, 25:41
hell is "damnation" Matt 23:14, Mark 12:40, Luke 20:47 hell is the "damnation of hell" Matt 23:33 hell is the place of "eternal damnation" Mark 3:29 hell is the "resurrection of damnation" John 5:29
in hell "their worm dieth not" Mark 9:44, 46, 48
in hell there will be "wailing and gnashing of teeth" Matt 13:42, 50 in hell there will be "weeping and gnashing of teeth" Matt 8:12, 22:13, 25:30
hell is a "place of torment" Luke 16:28 hell will have various "torments" Luke 16:23 (note that "torments" is in the plural) hell is the place where the damned will be "tormented in this flame" Luke 16:24
hell is a place of "outer darkness" Matt 8:12, 22:13
hell will be "everlasting punishment" Matt 25:46
Why would you want to risk spending eternity in hell? Hell will not be a party. If you go to hell, you will not party in hell with your mates. You won't have any mates in hell because hell will be a place with no love. In hell you will have no one to love and no one to love you. Can you imagine that. You should try to!
You have been warned about hell!
In the Bible, a loving God has warned you about hell because he wants nothing more than to spend eternity with you in heaven. That's why Jesus spoke so often of hell, to warn you that it is real so you will not to go there. But Jesus didn't just warn people about hell, he told them why they were in danger of it and he did something amzing to save people from hell. Jesus wanted so much to save you from hell, that he was prepared to pay a great price for your sin and rebellion against God by his death on a cross. You did the crime but he paid the fine.
However, while you don't have to go to hell (because Jesus died for you) you could at this very moment, still be in danger of going to hell.
You need to ask...
Am I a good person - in the eyes of a Holy God?
Am I innocent or guilty - in the eyes of a Holy God?
Will I be welcomed into heaven or cast into eternal hell by God who alone is Holy?
If you are not absolutely 100% sure that you will go to heaven when you die,
Discover once and for all, if you are in danger, why you are in danger and how you can escape.
You cannot afford to be wrong because eternity is the wrong thing to be wrong about. Please, make sure that if you were to die tonight, you would go to heaven. Not only have you been warned but God has provided you with a way out. You will be without excuse on the day of judgement! Please, take this moment in your life to think about and understand what God has done for you to save you from damnation to eternal hell.
“If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.” - Spurgeon