From a sermon Im working on, today. Of course we must proclaim the law of God. We must define sin, especially since Evangelicalism has so watered-down the term. We must warn with the special pleading of a friend who knows his friend is in immediate danger, about the wrath of God and His coming judgment. We must warn people about the non-metaphorical realities of hell—the reality that God rules and reigns over hell—the reality that instead of partying with their friends, people will burn but never be consumed. They will receive a special, resurrected body just for that purpose. We must warn people that the sin they love so much in this life they will love all-the-more in hell. All of God’s restraints will be removed. Their desire for sin will become insatiable. Their hatred for God will fly off the charts. But they will have no vehicle for satisfying the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life. It will be the ultimate and eternal torment of a mind given over to the full capacity of its depravity, with the perfect knowledge of never again having a moment of fulfilled, carnal desire—all-the-while burning in unquenchable fire. To tell an unsaved hater of God, which is every unsaved person, that hell is merely eternal separation from God is to tell the person exactly what he wants to hear. It is to bring a balm not a flame to his soul. It is a word of comfort, not a word of conviction.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Jul 2014 21:44:13 +0000