Lord, give us your wisdom and discernment and your truth and let our words not water down your gospel.
So, as a Christian who is on the front lines preaching and teaching and evangelizing in a country where 995/1000 people I come in contact with are lost, where does hell fit in? How can I break the news to these people that they are worshiping idols and not the Son of God, Jesus, and that they are blinded and bound for hell? Why as Christians do we feel the need cover up one of Jesus’s most talked about subjects and half of the truth of the gospel? Why is this among the least mentioned topics preached in churches today? I am here to evangelize and I find myself wanting to talk only about God’s love and compassion and mercy and grace, which is great if I want to tell half the story. I have to catch myself and retrace my steps. These people, who are mostly Hindu or Buddhist, are separated from God. If I don’t get that message of their separation and possible destruction across to them first and foremost, what is the point of sharing God’s love? How can we even begin to appreciate the love God has for us if we don’t understand what we deserve and are on a road towards, and that is hell. How can we truly appreciate God’s grace unless we know the righteousness that is in God’s judgement? Satan tries to keep us from sharing the full gospel. He wants us to avoid the subject of a place where lost people who die in their sins will go, and a place where he will be for eternity. I believe when we fully grasp this doctrine it will change the way we view God, our Savior, and our mission here. God is a righteous judge, he shows no favoritism. That is something to praise Him in. Give glory and adoration to Him because he will avenge the blood of His saints by judgement (Rev 6:9-10). Jesus is the perfect Savior. He took on the wrath of God and paid a price we would have to pay in hell. This is why we have such joy and peace as Christians, because we deserve separation and what we are offered is salvation. How can you not praise your Savior when you focus your eyes on the hell he endured with our sins on that bloodstained cross? It should drive us in our mission here on earth. David Platt mentions this in almost every sermon he preaches: there are 7 billion people living on this planet in the current moment, 1/3 profess to be Christian, that leaves 4.7 billion people headed on a broad road to hell. It becomes so much more real when I am looking into the faces of those 4.7 billion every day. We have to proclaim to these people the full truth with urgency. Hell is real, it is scary, but a Savior has come. Our mission becomes urgent when we stop focusing solely on the gift we have, and instead focus on the tragedy that awaits others. Let’s love our neighbors and the people around us enough to share this truth with them.
“First, we need God’s wrath to keep us honest about evangelism. Paul reasoned with Felix about righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment (Acts 24:25). We need to do the same. Without the doctrine of hell, we are prone to get involved in all sorts of important God-honoring things, but neglect the one thing that matters for all eternity, urging sinners to be reconciled to God.”
-Kevin DeYoung
