Headlines: “Georgia Pastor protesting ‘Demon’ mascot”

“Police have arrested a pastor in Georgia for protesting outside a high school against its demon mascot. Police spokeswoman Tabitha Pugh said 36-year-old Donald Crosby was arrested Monday in the central Georgia city of Warner Robins. Crosby & supporters picked the opening day of classes to protest against the pitchfork-…”

QUESTION:WHAT is worth “fighting”

about or “protesting” about TODAY?

QUESTION:WHEN was the last time you

heard a “Fire & Brimstone” Message on Hell??

“Hell disappeared. And no one noticed.”

Martin Marty

Church Historian

“Today, hell is theology’s H-word, a subject too trite for serious scholarship.”

Newsweek article

“I don’t think there can be any future for heaven and hell.”

Gordon Kaufman

Harvard Divinity School

“I Can’t Believe He Said That!”

The Tough Sayings of JESUSMatthew 25:41

I. The HEAT of HELL II. The HORROR of HELL

“First, I want to remind you that in the last days there will come scoffers who will do every wrong they can think of, and laugh at the truth. This will be their line of argument: ‘So Jesus promised to come back, did he? Then where is he? He’ll never come! Why, as far back as anyone can remember everything has remained exactly as it was since the first day of creation.’ They deliberately forget this fact…”

2 Peter 3:3-5 (Living Bible)

REMEMBER:JESUS is Coming Again to

Judge every person and those who reject Him will be cast into the Fires of HELL FOREVER!!!

The Tough Sayings of JESUS

I. The HEAT of HELL “Then He will say to those on His

left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Matthew 25:41

The Context of Matthew 25 is the final judgment of the sheep & the goats that is only recorded in Matthew.

The nations(‘ethne’) are separated and the sheep inherit the kingdom (v. 34) while the goats are cursed to HELL. (v. 41)

“This doctrine (of hell) is often neglected because it is difficult to reconcile hell with the love of God. That millions of people will be in conscious torment forever is beyond the grasp of the human mind… The doctrine of hell has driven many people away from Christianity… One man said that he would not want to be in heaven with a God who sends people to hell…”

Erwin Lutzer

People forget about the justice & ______ of God and are ignorant of the depth of man’s depravity.cf. Rom. 1:18-19 – suppress Truth

wrath

Hell is a place of eternal, conscious punishment for the wicked after the resurrection.

cf. Matt. 25:46; Mk. 9:47

QUESTION:“Punishment” for WHAT?

Jesus says that hell is a place of unquenchable fire. cf. Is. 66:24; Mk. 9:47-48

i.e. Gehenna = Valley of Hinnom

“In Christ’s day, this hatred of the Valley of Hinnom (just outside of Jerusalem) caused the valley to become the town dump where all the garbage of Jerusalem could be thrown. Unclean corpses as well as normal garbage were thrown into it. Because garbage was constantly being thrown into the valley, the fires never stopped burning and the worms never stopped eating.” Robert Morey

“In Jewish sources, Gehenna was associ-ated with the eschatological fires of hell and conveyed an image of extreme horror. Entrance into hell indicates spiritual ruin in the starkest terms. This thought is reinforced with the citation of Isaiah 66:24, which speaks of the punishment of the sin of rebellion against God… The passage was thoroughly familiar to the disciples as a vivid picture of a destruction which continues endlessly.” William Lane

Revelation 14:11 says those who worship “the beast” will be tormented with “fire and brimstone.” i.e. No Rest…

Unbelievers are “accursed”(25:41) because they willfully rejected Christ!

cf. Rev. 20:12; Lk. 12:47-48

Their bodies are miraculously transformed so as to burn for eternity in the “lake of fire.”

i.e. without burning up

REMEMBER:JESUS is Coming Again to

Judge every person and those who reject Him will be cast into the Fires of HELL FOREVER!!!

The Tough Sayings of JESUS

II. The HORROR of HELL “Then He will say to those on His

left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Matthew 25:41

FYI – The “torment” of hell will be ETERNAL. cf. Mt. 25:41,46; Jude 7;

Rev. 14:11; 20:10

In Matthew 13:41-42, Jesus throws the “tares” into the “furnace of fire” where there is ________ and _________ of teeth! cf. Mt. 8:12; 22:13; 25:30 weeping gnashing

“Fire causes the greatest pain known to man, and the furnace of fire into which sinners are cast represents the excruciating torment of hell, which is the destiny of every unbeliever… Hell will NOT be a place, as some jokingly envision, where the ungodly will con-tinue to do their thing while the godly do theirs in heaven. Hell will have NO friendships, no fellowship, no comara-derie, no comfort…”

John MacArthur

In Luke 16:19-31, the rich man asks Lazarus to cool his tongue with water, but it is too late, the great chasm has been fixed!cf. Lk. 16:26 – “warn my brothers”

2 Peter 3 says that in the Last Days mockers will come doubting God’s Word & denying God’s Judgment!

GALLUP POLL

“From 1997 to 2004, belief in Hell has ranged between 56% and 71%. The 2004 data revealed that 70% of Americans overall believe in Hell, while 12% are not sure and 17% do not believe in Hell.”

BARNA RESEARCH

“Most Americans do not expect to experience Hell first-hand: just one-half of 1% expect to go to Hell upon their death. Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe they will go to Heaven… One in every four adults (24%) admitted that they have ‘no idea’ what will happen after they die.”

The Doctrine of God’s Judgment

1. Satisfies Our Inward Sense of a Need for Justice in the World

2. Enables Us to Forgive Others Freely3. Provides a Motive for Righteous

Living4. Provides a Great Motive for

Evangelism

Wayne Grudem

Practical Application:

1. Rescued – 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9-10

2. Reminder – 2 Peter 3:1-2

3. Repent – 2 Peter 3:8-9, 15

REMEMBER:JESUS is Coming Again to

Judge every person and those who reject Him will be cast into the Fires of HELL FOREVER!!!

July 8, 1741 – Enfield, Conn.“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Jonathan Edwards

“Probably no sermon has ever had the effect of this one. It was interrupted by outcries from the congregation—men and women stood up and rolled on the floor, their cries once drowning out the voice of the preacher. Some are said to have laid hold on the pillars and braces of the church…”