The hardest thing to preach is the doctrine of hell. Nonetheless its reality is something we can't ignore.
Hell is real, and those who live apart from Christ are destined to spend eternity in it while those who put their faith in Him will be spared from it.
The biggest question about hell is why would a loving God create such a horrible place?
The answer is that while God is loving, He is also just and cannot let sin go unpunished. But it's not God's fault that people go to hell. It's our sins and our choices that bring us there. God simply honours our choice. Hence, when people choose to live apart from God, they are denied His presence, which is what makes hell hell—God's absence.
The reality of hell can cause us to react in unhealthy fear, legalism or deprecation. But these are not healthy responses. Here are three ways we can respond to the reality that is hell.
1. Appreciate God's Grace
The reality is that we all deserve hell—every single one of us. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
We all deserve eternal death because of our sin.
However, God in His rich mercy offered up Jesus Christ to take the punishment of our sin so that we can be set free from the sting of hell if only we put our faith in Christ.
Since God saved us from hell and caused us to be free from it based not on our merit but on His finished work, we should be thankful for His grace and honour Him for saving us from our own failures.
2. Build an Urgency for Evangelism
We can't deny the fact that we might still have family and friends who have not gotten a complete grasp of our eternal destination. This builds in us an urgency to be a vessel of God's truth to those who do not yet believe in the gospel.
While we do not use hell to "scare people into the sinner's prayer," it does remind us of the eternal destiny of the people that God has entrusted to us. God can and will save people from hell, but He asks us to participate in the work.
3. Look to Christ as Our Only Solution
What hell ultimately tells us is that we cannot save ourselves. Left to our own, we are destined for hell. Heaven is only for the spiritually spotless and righteous, and only Jesus passed that mark. What God did was He lifted us up through the cross that we may inherit the righteousness of Jesus if only we believe in Him.
In John 14:6, Jesus says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." If we want to be freed from the destination that is hell, we need to put our full trust in Christ.
