Sunday, October 7, 2012

October 8, 2012

"And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'" Luke 16:26
 
The context of Luke 16, like all Scripture teaching is key to understanding. In this chapter Jesus is talking to His disciples about the importance of relationships over riches. Riches mean little if they don't result in rich relationships with God and those you love and live with.
 
There are those who argue that a "loving God would never send anyone to hell".
 
At least those people believe in hell. Not everyone does.
 
The truth is that God never has sent a human being to hell nor will He ever do so. Hell was created for the Devil and his legion of fallen angels. However, those who refuse to receive God's provision for salvation by accepting His Son, Jesus, will have no way of avoiding hell.
 
Peter tells us clearly that "God is not willing that any should perish but all come to repentence".
 
John wrote that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."
 
Any person who winds up in hell will do so against the will of a loving God. But as C. S. Lewis once said, "Every person must decide if they will have faith in God and say, "Thy will be done." Any person who refuses to surrender to God's will and trust Him for salvation will come to the end of his days and at his last breath hear Jesus to him, "You did not want my will to be done so your will be done".
 
So, if God honors that man's will to refuse salvation through Christ and that refusal causes him to miss heaven, whose fault is it for ending up in hell? Surely it is not Christ's fault."
 
When you distill it all away, life is about relationships. Jesus commanded you to "love God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all you mind." and then He added, "Love your neighbor as yourself. Should you refuse to obey God in our relationships and live selfishly, when you come to end of your days, your eternity will be spent separated from God and completely alone. Hell is a horrible place of fire, and torment and darkness and pure evil. But the worst part of Hell is the fact that you will be cut off from all relationships. You will find yourself completely alone - eternally separated from God and isolated from other people forever! If you don't cherish the sacred and special realtionships in life you will lose them for eternity! Love the God who created you, the Jesus Who died for you and the people God gave you to share life with.