City Life Starter

The Word:

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

Revelation 20:13-14 “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. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.”

Revelation 21:8 “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Reflection Questions:

1. Is Hell real?
2. Why would a good God send people to an eternal hell?
3. How can a just God receive people into heaven?

By Heather Mattingly

Last Sunday, Pastor Chris said this so wonderfully: the question should not only be, “why would a good God send people to an eternal hell?” but the parallel question is, “how can a just God receive people into heaven?”

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “just” as “acting or being in conformity with what is morally upright or good,” or, “righteous.” Where do our ideas of righteousness, justice, and fairness come from? God our Father, in His mercy, gives our consciences to us as a gift. The Bible says, “The spirit [conscience] of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching and examining all the innermost parts of his being” (Proverbs 20:27 AMP).

Can any of us stand up to God’s standard of righteousness? No. So, what do we do? We run to Jesus and His finished work on the Cross.

But what if we don’t run to Him? What if we live in this world, help our neighbors, give money to those in need, have a family, and contribute to our society? That’s being a good person, right? Surely God wouldn’t send us to hell if we lived a good, helpful life like this? A “good life” on our own terms?

Well, how are we defining good? And how does our definition of good measure up to God’s definition of good? The Bible says that “none is righteous; no, not one…” (Rom 3:10). And that God is “light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5). We, as fallen human beings, are full of darkness. How can we even come close to His Presence of Light?

The answer is: we can’t. God Himself had to provide a Way for us, and He did – through the Cross of Jesus Christ. But, it is still our choice whether or not we will take the Way He has provided. He loves us, and will not force us.

We have a real enemy that we are fighting. Jesus tells us that, “the thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10). Our enemy hates God and hates humans because we are made in His image and likeness (Gen. 1:27). Satan will do whatever it takes to not only defeat us in this life, but defeat us in eternity.

1. Satan comes to STEAL: to steal your identity. This is the identity that God has given you through Jesus’ death on the Cross – the righteousness of God through Christ. Through Him and Him alone, you are pure, you are holy, you are clean, you are righteous; you are right with God.
2. Satan comes to KILL: to physically kill you in this life. Once he steals your identity and you don’t know who you are or whose you are, you scramble trying to make sense of this world and your place in it. You get so bogged down by sins, burdens, woes, and trying to carry all your burdens on your own, that you finally end where all physical bodies do: death.
3. Satan comes to DESTROY: to spiritually kill you for all eternity. This Greek word used for destroy is “apollymi,” which means, “ perish, destroy, be lost, to render useless.”

This evil is pure hatred, and this is what we, Christians, are fighting against. Jesus was quite clear about the existence of hell and illustrating with parables about what it is like. Of course, Satan and his demons should go to hell, and we see that at the end of God’s Story (See Rev. 19 – 22). But, what about ‘innocent humans’ that are ‘great people,’ but just do not choose Jesus?

The tricky part here is what Pastor Chris said: that we don’t want to preach fire and brimstone and that others are wrong. This is where we need the empowerment of the Holy Spirit: to see those around us as captives in bondage and to speak God’s Truth to others in His way. The thing about bondage is it can fool people into thinking that it was their own idea and that they like it. Satan is very good at this. If bondage and darkness are everything you’ve ever known, you can convince yourself you have a good thing simply because you don’t know that there is anything else. Do you remember what you were like before Jesus found you? Do you wish you had heard the Good News sooner? What if you are currently robbing others around you of this incredible Freedom from sin and death and hell by keeping your faith to yourself? Pastor Chris said on Sunday what I’ve heard my dad say for years: “God doesn’t send anyone to hell; we choose to go there.”

The truth is actually terrifyingly simple: either Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, or He is not. I’ve heard pastors say, “if we could get to Heaven on our own, then God is a cruel God indeed to send His only Son to die for us to provide just another way to get to Heaven.”

Prayer:

“Father, the subject of hell scares me. Your word says there is a hell and I believe You. You, Father, have taught me that True Love is the sacrifice, not having my own way with no consequences. Holy Spirit, please empower me with Your boldness to speak Your Truth in Your way to those You’ve placed around me. I don’t know how to truly love others the way You do, but I do know that Your love does not let Your beloved walk toward destruction without crying out. Holy Spirit, please use me and my words today to pursue Your children that You want to bring back into Your loving embrace. I desire to be Your servant; please show me how. Amen.”