And in hell, being in great pain, lifting up his eyes he saw Abraham, far away, and Lazarus on his breast. And he gave a cry and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, so that he may put the end of his finger in water and put it on my tongue, for I am cruelly burning in this flame. Luke 16:23-24 (KJV)
If you were driving down a road at full speed toward a sudden deadly drop off, you would want someone to warn you. Hopefully someone would put up some road signs, maybe some lights, flags, bells and whistles, a barrier, etc.; whatever it would take to keep someone from plummeting to their demise. You certainly would not expect for someone to just let you go that way knowing the danger or worse yet encourage you to go that way. Some might even go as far as to express to you that there is no way there is a drop off; it just is not logical that there would be one there. For whatever reason you keep barreling down that road faster and faster; it is not until you have gone over the edge that you realize there is a deadly drop off. It is too late to turn back.
Hell is a reality. Some would have you believe that it does not exist; a loving God would not send people to eternal torment. Well they are partially right; God does not cause anyone to go to hell. On the contrary He has done great things to warn men of Hell and to guarantee they do not have to go there. Men send themselves to hell when they reject God’s free gift of salvation and redemption through Jesus’ death on the cross. God has given us ample warning of the reality of hell, so that we may escape its eternal punishment. Although God would be just at allowing all men to go to hell, He is not willing that any should perish (1 Peter 3:9); He gives us all opportunity to instead live in paradise forever. He offers us grace.
Hell is eternal punishment for our sins; it is our just dessert. It is as real and equally as horrible as the holy heaven is glorious. People who die without Jesus will open their eyes to eternal torment; it will be too late to accept the gift of grace, judgment has passed and the sentence has been rendered. Hell is a horrible place. Hell is forever. Hell is a reality realized one second too late!
Jesus still tugs at the hearts of men, knocking ever so gently for them to accept Him in. He loves us; He loves you. I can almost hear the pleading in His voice, “Don’t go to hell, it is an awful place. Turn from your ways and follow me, to life!” God is passionate about you, He wants you to come and rejoice with Him forever. However, He leaves you with the choice; will you choose life or death? Will it be Heaven or Hell? You must choose. Choosing not to accept Jesus Christ and allowing His sacrifice to save you is choosing to suffer eternal punishment in hell. Please, don’t go there!
