Who Cares About Hell?
Last week, we took the youth to a judgment house.
To those who are uninitiated, a judgment house, for lack of a better term, is a Christian haunted house. Instead of ghouls and ghosts and goblins chasing you and screaming in the dark, you witness a drama presentation where teenagers die. Ultimately, the drama climaxes with a scene of judgment, followed by a viewing of the consequences - a scene in Heaven and a scene in Hell. Someone then shares the gospel with your group.
I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of judgment houses. I don't like to scare people to Jesus. I'm always afraid of manipulating a student's fears into a false decision in Christ.
I take my students because they enjoy the experience, and especially the dinner out afterward. It's a great bonding moment.
However, one thing is vitally true about the judgment house presentation: Hell is a very real place.
We don't like to talk about Hell often. It's upsetting, and we try avoid subjects that bother us. We like to think everybody goes to heaven, but they don't.
Craig Groeschel, in his book the Christian Atheist, puts it very eloquently.
"One thing I've observed is that when someone dies, that person's loved one wants to believe their relative when to "a better place." We'll say things like, "She wasn't a religious person, but deep down, she had a good heart," or "He wasn't a saint, but he did some good things." When it comes to death and eternity, it's human nature to hope for the best and avoid contemplating the worst."
Yet, scripture gives us a VERY DIFFERENT account of what qualifies a person for heaven.
"Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6.
Only a relationship with Christ makes us a child of the King. Only the King's children get access to heaven. If you are not a child of the King, you end up in Hell. It's not a pleasant thought, but it is true.
Hell is real. It's eternal suffering. It's not pleasant.
Yet, we don't share the gospel because it might be socially awkward. We might get made fun of. We may lose friends. We don't know the right words to say. We come up with a myriad of excuses.
For many of us, the truth is Hell doesn't motivate us. We don't really believe our lost friend will go to Hell. If we did, we'd share Christ. We don't really believe our family member is a bad person, so we ignore John 14:6 and keep the status quo.
We let people die and go to Hell everyday because we simply don't care.
It's time we start caring. We are God's plan for sharing Christ with the world. We are commanded by Jesus to share about him. We have to care because no one else will.
Do you care enough about Hell to share the gospel? I hope so. You may be someone's only hope of avoiding it.
To those who are uninitiated, a judgment house, for lack of a better term, is a Christian haunted house. Instead of ghouls and ghosts and goblins chasing you and screaming in the dark, you witness a drama presentation where teenagers die. Ultimately, the drama climaxes with a scene of judgment, followed by a viewing of the consequences - a scene in Heaven and a scene in Hell. Someone then shares the gospel with your group.
I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of judgment houses. I don't like to scare people to Jesus. I'm always afraid of manipulating a student's fears into a false decision in Christ.
I take my students because they enjoy the experience, and especially the dinner out afterward. It's a great bonding moment.
However, one thing is vitally true about the judgment house presentation: Hell is a very real place.
We don't like to talk about Hell often. It's upsetting, and we try avoid subjects that bother us. We like to think everybody goes to heaven, but they don't.
Craig Groeschel, in his book the Christian Atheist, puts it very eloquently.
"One thing I've observed is that when someone dies, that person's loved one wants to believe their relative when to "a better place." We'll say things like, "She wasn't a religious person, but deep down, she had a good heart," or "He wasn't a saint, but he did some good things." When it comes to death and eternity, it's human nature to hope for the best and avoid contemplating the worst."
Yet, scripture gives us a VERY DIFFERENT account of what qualifies a person for heaven.
"Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6.
Only a relationship with Christ makes us a child of the King. Only the King's children get access to heaven. If you are not a child of the King, you end up in Hell. It's not a pleasant thought, but it is true.
Hell is real. It's eternal suffering. It's not pleasant.
Yet, we don't share the gospel because it might be socially awkward. We might get made fun of. We may lose friends. We don't know the right words to say. We come up with a myriad of excuses.
For many of us, the truth is Hell doesn't motivate us. We don't really believe our lost friend will go to Hell. If we did, we'd share Christ. We don't really believe our family member is a bad person, so we ignore John 14:6 and keep the status quo.
We let people die and go to Hell everyday because we simply don't care.
It's time we start caring. We are God's plan for sharing Christ with the world. We are commanded by Jesus to share about him. We have to care because no one else will.
Do you care enough about Hell to share the gospel? I hope so. You may be someone's only hope of avoiding it.
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