Highway To Hell

Wrong Highway

Hell , it should be a sobering word. But in popular culture so much misinformation exist about the nature of hell . Some outright deny it exists . Sad to say even in within Christian circles there are those who outright deny or downplay it as a teaching in the Bible.

As with the popular song for the title of this blog , many joke about Hell as if its a place to party,have a good time. I have heard it said , all my friends are there so why not go there. But Hell is a place of misery, punishment and as Jesus tells us  ,  ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’( Mark 9:48) Hell is not a place that one should be so glib about going there. 


Another idea is that Satan is the one in charge. He controls the punishment , that he is the master of hell. This theme runs rampant in Hollywood and in music . In some more extreme metal (black metal) Satan is seen as either equal or one who will overthrow God. That Satan rules in hell and is trying to bring heaven down. But Satan or Lucifer is no equal , nor does he rule hell. In fact it s a place prepared for him and his demons, by God.  Revelation 20:10 ...and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Satan is no ruler of hell nor does he have control . Jesus Christ holds the power concerning death and hades(hell) Rev 1:18. 


You have also heard it said hell is really just separation from God . But in truth hell is the very presence of God's holy wrath against sin and rebellion. There is  no place one can go from the gaze of God .Psalm 139:[8] If I ascend to heaven, you are the ,If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! We cannot escape the presence of God . Hell is filled with God's perfect and justified wrath against Satan,his demons and all sinners . We have heard the concept so much that God cannot be in the presence of sin we forget that , everyday God witnesses atrocities . He knows the inner most part of men and women. He sees sin but His holy anger burns against it.  There is nothing more terrifying then for a sinner to be in the hands of a holy God.  As the saying goes you can run but you cannot hide. 


Oh this is a good one. Only bad people go to hell. Thats right , hell is reserved for the bad of the bad . The Jack the Rippers,Hitler,Nero,Ted Bundy's of the world not next door neighbors jack and Jill . What about the little old granny , Nelly who bakes those wonderful pies. They are good people . They don't deserve hell. Surely a loving God will not send them to a place of utter despair and punishment. First off this view does not take 2 things serious enough.The first is the holiness of God. That He is absolutely perfect and to be in His presence He requires the same. The second is it downplays the reality of sin and how it penetrates  our whole person. We sin because we are sinners. 


Yes God is love but it is a holy love and is not disconnected from His wrath against sin. Who among us can say without impunity that we have not sinned . That we have not broken a commandment . We can't even keep New Year resolutions let alone God's holy standards. It doesn't take much prodding to get even the best person to admit they are not perfect. The word of God clearly reveals all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That we all have turned aside to our own way . That no one does good , not EVEN ONE. Yes we may look good on the outside and most never perform the type of atrocities of a Hitler or Bundy ,but when Jesus was preaching about the law He took it further than just the external. If you hate in your heart , you kill . If you lust in your heart, you have committed adultery. Plus since the wages of sin is death and we all die , therefore we are all sinners. 


Hell is not a place you want to be. Nor is it reserved for the bad of the bad because we are all unholy. So what must we do to escape hell and the wrath to come? Repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to be our sin bearer . He came to rescue ,redeem and save . But remember , yes we are saved from hell, yes we are saved from sins just penalty but ultimately we are saved by God from Himself in the death and resurrection of Jesus. 


We need to hear about the wrath of God and hell a little bit more . We need to hear of God's holy anger against sin . We need to hear about how serious sinners we are . Finally , we need to hear about the one who came to die in the sinners place , the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world . There is no in between. One is either on one road or the other. May it spur us to pray for the lost more and share Jesus more.