“Why don’t pastors preach hell fire and brimstone like they used to pastor?” An honest question deserve an honest answer. So when this question was raised to me I first had to see consider what was really being asked. I can’t imagine there being a desire for people to be shouted at. I mean do people really enjoy that? Well maybe some do. At times I have had others say to me, “Just say it. Pastor, you are too nice.” Too nice? Isn’t that like being too rich? I believe the desire at the heart of these people is that things would be taught/preached with conviction and that there would be a sense of certainty about life.

This is the heartbeat behind the series that we are beginning this week. Really? For the next couple of weeks we are going to address the real questions that people have about life, God and eternity. It is my hope that we will not only help you find answers but help you be able to help others with their questions. In other words I hope that there will be conversations that will be fostered with people in your sphere of influence and you will have confidence in engaging real people with real questions.

Today I would like for us to tackle the biggest question of all, that is the question of eternity. At some point in our lives we will all be called on to answer the question of what happens when we die. That very question is what sets men and women apart from all other creatures. We have a sense of eternity.

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (Ecc 3:11 NIV)

It was a dark night in rural Illinois. I made my way into a high school gymnasium in Earlville. A young man who had been a part of our youth group had died in a car accident. A minister (not of the Gospel) came to the podium and delivered the worst message that I could imagine someone uttering at such a devastating time. He said, “Adam lived and died and now he no longer exists.” The young people around me looked at me and I simply shook my head no. The questions that followed were ones that we all ask and need to ask. What happens when I die?

The Bible teaches that God has set in man’s heart a longing and a curiosity about eternal life. To live for only this life is vanity, as Solomon would say. In this day in this place when people are chasing after superficial temporary pleasures only to find them unfulfilling the notion of eternity is intriguing. When life seem’s unfair it seems right that there would be a time and a place where things are made right. God has set eternity in our hearts.

This week I read a great book: “Heaven is For Real”. John recommended it to me. The book tells the story of a little boy of 4 who get’s terribly sick and visits heaven. Without guile the little boy shares amazing details of a God that loves and a heaven that is absolutely real. I am sure there is room for the critic to raise some questions, but the mere prevalence of these types of stories at the very least tells us that men and women long for eternity. Many believe in some type of heaven and of a place called hell.

Perhaps the greatest way to answer the questions of heaven and hell is through what Jesus said. After all Jesus came from heaven. He ascended to hell when He died. He predicted that He would die and then rise again on the third day. He fulfilled that promise and then He ascended to heaven again. The skeptic might want to argue whether or not Jesus was the Son of God, but most would agree that He was a good teacher and that many said He performed great miracles. So let’s look at what Jesus said about heaven and hell, because He had quite a bit to say on the subject.

Now I am going to let the words of Jesus speak.

2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:2-3 NIV)

29 Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 31 But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’a? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” (Matt 22:29-32)

13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. (John 3:13)

38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. (John 6:38)

29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. (Matt 5:29-30)

33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? (Matt 23:33)

22 Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy,
because great is your reward in heaven.
For that is how their fathers treated the prophets. (Luke 6:22-23)

20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you,
but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)

3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence
with the glory I had with you before the world began.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory,
the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
(John 17:3-5,24)

41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. (Matt 13:41-43)

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
(Matt 25:31-34,41,46)

Jesus obviously believed in heaven and hell. In fact the reality of heaven and hell was a motivational factor for Him. Look at this very compelling lesson from Jesus

The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell,a where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” (Luke 16:19-31)

The Rich man in hell preaches a compelling message. Doesn’t he?

Even with Jesus clear and compelling teachings on eternity, heaven, hell and judgment there are still some questions that will arise.

Any Empty Hell?
This question has its fondation on the understanding that God is all forgiving. Jesus was loving compassionate and forgiving, how could he send people to hell?

Well the same God who made heaven made hell. Maybe hell is just empty.

That is not what Jesus teaches.

The Narrow Gate
13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell* is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. (Matthew 7:13-14 NLT)

It is actually easier to make the case that we all deserve hell rather than heaven.

• God is perfect and as judge he has to condemn sin not overlook it. (Gen 18:25, 1 Sam 2:10, Rom 2:2)
• God gives second chances but people stubbornly refuse. (Rom 1:18-23, 31-32)
• God has given us the planet and we have abused it as if we had no one to answer to (Psalm 24:1)
• We treat our fellow humans with disregard even though everyone on earth bears the image of God (Gen 1:26-27)
• We fool ourselves about where we are in relation to other sinners but the truth is we have more in common with criminals and convicts than we do with Jesus, the sinless Son of God. (Rom 2:1-4, 3:9-20)

“No one does good not a single one.... For every one has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:10-12,23)

Thank God for His grace that deals with this sin problem.

But if God is love...

This is the question that many people will have. An honest question. The real question is “How can you believe that God sends people to hell?

In short WE DON”T

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,f that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)

3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time. (1 Timothy 2:3-6)

9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

So then why do people end up in hell?

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life ina Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romasn 6:23)

The people who face this judgement are

• those who have sinned (that’s all of us)
• having earned the wages (debt) meaning spiritual death and seperation from God for eternity and
• who also refuse God’s free gift, which is the salvation and eternal life provided through the death of Christ Jesus on the cross, where he paid the penalty that was owed.

It is hard to hear but the people that end up in hell chose to be there by doing things their way instead of God’s way JESUS.

C.S. Lewis said: “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: ‘Thy will be done.’

We need to continue to pray and plea for people to turn from their ways to the way of the Lord. We need to let them know that hell is terrible and it is also real.

What about the people who haven’t heard?

• Things are changing when it comes to the ‘Christian West’. Astounding numbers of people are coming to Christ around the globe and things are changing as the Christian west in some ways is becoming the secular west.
• Jesus answered this question when he said: 7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matt 7:7-8) God is answering this in many ways. Astoundingly Muslims are having Jesus appear to them in dreams later to be introduced to the one that they have been seeing all along. God honors His word!
• Men and Women are responsible for the light they have been shown (Rom 1:20). The conclusion of Paul was that people then were without excuse.
• God is a fair judge and He will judge according to the amount of light they have been given. “But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” (Luke 12:47-48)
• Honestly and lovingly, you have heard the truth and so you will be judged accordingly. You are being offered the free gift of grace now.

What about heaven, who gets to go there?

Drawing from data in a recent survey Randy Acorn said: “For every American that believes he or she is going to hell there are 120 who believe they are going to Heaven.”

Most people think they will get to heaven by good works or moral behavior or religious behavior. That is not what the Bible teaches:

28 “So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.” (Romans 3:28)

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. (Eph 2:8-9)

5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, (Titus 3:5)

Why will so few make it to heaven if it is free? Because we have to give up control. This is the hardest thing to do. God’s grace and forgiveness comes to us only when we give up control and ask Him to be Lord of All.