I. INTRODUCTION – THE SERIOUSNESS OF ETERNITY

·         60-70% of U.S. adults say they believe in hell (around 61% in one 2023-24 result).

·         What people mean by “hell” also varies quite a bit:

o    Many say hell is a place of eternal separation from God’s presence.

o    A smaller (but significant) number view hell as an “actual place of torment and suffering.”

“If there were no hell, the cross would have no meaning. The greatest act of love in history would have been unnecessary.”       - Billy Graham

Matthew 25:46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

II. JESUS TAUGHT THAT HELL IS LITERAL                                           

Mark 9:43–47 NKJV 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched—44 where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell into the fire that shall never be quenched— 46 where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.

Matthew 25:41 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..                                                      

Matthew 13:41-42 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 blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus used these terms not as metaphors for guilt or sorrow but as real conditions of eternal separation and torment.

III. GOD’S JUSTICE DEMANDS A REAL HELL

Romans 2:5–6 5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God “will repay each person according to what they have done.

C.S. Lewis put it this way:“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, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’”

IV. THE APOSTLES CONFIRMED ITS REALITY

2 Thessalonians 1:8–9 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.                                                           

Revelation 20:10-14 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. 

V. THE CROSS MAKES SENSE ONLY IF HELL IS REAL

1 Peter 3:18 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

VI. GOD’S LOVE DESIRES THAT NONE SHOULD PERISH

John 3:16-17 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, 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.                                                   

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

Ezekiel 33:11  11 Say to them, “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways!...”

VII. THE FINAL DECISION

Matthew 7:13–14 13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.                                                                               

Romans 6:23 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

*Scripture Assignment this Week:  1. Write/Type following Verses, One Each Day, in your Own Words.  2. Write/Type what God is Saying to You Personally through it.  3. Write/Type what You will Do as a Result.  Mon – Matthew 25:46, Matthew 25:41, Mark 9:43–48, Tue – Matthew 13:41-42 Wed – Matthew 6:9-13, Romans 2:5–6, Thu –, 2 Thessalonians 1:8–9, Revelation 20:10-14, Fri – John 15:7, Sat – 1 Peter 3:18,  John 3:16-17, 2 Peter 3:9, Matthew 7:13–14

 (All Scriptures used are from the NIV 2011 unless otherwise noted.)  *If you miss a Sunday & want to catch up, want to watch or listen to a message again, or want a friend to see it, visit our Church App, Website www.gothope.cc , FaceBook, or YouTube.