What if the most loving thing you can do is tell a person they are going to Hell?
"Whoever
believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is
condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only
Son of God." (John 3:18)
This applies to
everyone who calls upon the name of any god aside from the Lord, Who is
Christ.
This also
applies to a great many people who would call themselves Christians.
So, Christians,
what are you going to do? What if the most loving thing you can do is tell a
person they are going to Hell? Are you going to tell them that so long as they
are unrepentant they are condemned?
As real as
Heaven is, that's just how real Hell is. And, for every word you say about
Heaven, remember there is a word just as real, just as strong, and just as sure
for Hell, too.
Maybe you think
I'm being harsh, but I don't know - I think it's a little harsh to see a person
getting ready to leap into a lake of fire and not warn them that it's a lake of
fire that they're getting ready to jump into. I think that if you see a person
walking down a highway you should do what you can to get them off of the road
and tell them that they're going to get hit by a truck if they don't. We have
an obligation to let people know the reality of what's going to happen to
them.
And
then...
And then we have
to pleasure and the joy of telling them it doesn't have to be that way.
And then we can
tell them about Jesus Christ and His Love and His Compassion and
His Mercy and His Graciousness and His Faithfulness and
His Power.
But the Good
News is not good unless we are sinners in need of a Savior,
because if we were good in it of ourselves, we would not need a Savior! But,
because we know we rightly deserve shame, pain, suffering, torment, hurt, punishment,
and these even unto death, it is good. It is
good, because we know also that Jesus bore our punishment and
bore it to the full - every last part of it. He took the
Father's wrath upon Himself when we are deserving of it, and this He did willingly and
this He did perfectly, and that is what love looks
like.
Love is not
telling a person they are okay when they are not okay. Love is telling a person
the truth - that they are a sinner - weak and in the flesh -
in need of a Savior, because they're in so deep, they could
never do enough to dig themselves out of this debt, but here's the good news...
the debt has been paid in full by the One to Whom you owed
it.
"For I am
not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone
who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." (Romans 1:16)
In Hell, there
will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, restlessness and much suffering.
In Heaven, there
will be neither dark nor sorrow nor tears, but much joy and rejoicing.
So, live your
life in light of the knowledge of what Christ has done for you. Weep for those
who will not be saved. Rejoice for those who will be saved. Pray for those who
do not know Him, and be His ambassador to all people. Thank Him for bringing
you to Himself and for His endless love. Let every act of your life be an act
of worship. Give the whole of yourself, you life up to Him, and live always in
prayer. Never forget this joy you have - that in Christ you have been made a
child of God and you are well loved. Every breath is a gift from Him which He
has given to you out of love.
"I appeal
to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a
living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual
worship." (Romans 12:1)
Cheap grace says
Christ died, so I can live my life for myself, and I can keep sinning.
Costly grace
says Christ died, so I can live my life for Him, and I am made new in His love.
He is costly,
but He is worth so much more. This is love unexplainable and joy immeasurable.
