Hell and Everlasting PunishmentPart 8: HopelessnessThe Bible says, "When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of the unjust men perisheth" (Proverbs 11:7), and "the hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish" (Proverbs 10:28). Another verse that says almost the same thing is Proverbs 14:32: "The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death."Paul writes of the unsaved: "That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world." (Ephesians 2:12).Dante has written over the portal of Hell: "Relinquish all hope, ye who enter here."Dr. L.R. Scarborough writes of a man who died without hope. In a sermon he tells the story:DYING WITHOUT HOPEIn my pastorate at Abilene years ago in a great revival whihc I was holding in my church, I went as my custom was to see the people. I went to the office and invited the proprietor who had just come to the town to make our church his church home. He was a big, fine-looking man. He looked me in the face and said, "Are you the pastor of that church?" I said, "I am;" and for two or three minutes I stood and heard him swear and curse preachers and churches and Christians. Then he walked back into the private room of his hotel.During that meeting God led back from twenty-seven years of backsliding, led there by this wicked man, his wife. I led to Christ his son, who now, thank God, is preaching the gospel in California. I led to Christ his daughter who is a student in our Training School at Fort Worth. When the meeting was over, one day my telephone rang. That wife at the other end of the line said, "Come." I went to that hotel. I went into that family room. There stood the weeping wife and the sorrowing children. There lay that big strong man on his bed breathing his last. He had been suddenly taken with an incurable disease. His lips moved and his wife said, "Put your ear to his lips and hear what he says, "I am sorry I did. A thousand times his dying words have rung in my soul- "Dying without hope; dying without God; dying without Christ- hopeless, hopeless!" for twenty-five times, I guess, his strength enabled him to say it; and then he went out into eternity.I want to tell you while you're living, God says you are without Christ and without hope if you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour.
_________________SI Moderator - Greg Gordon
Greetings in the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ which is our hope. I just thank the Lord for your anointed "Hell and everlasting punishment" series. This is a series that I do not rejoice over as I am reminded again of the plight of the wicked. Moreover, I also must confess that I do not represent Christ as I ought. I do not mean that I do the things that I see the world all around me do, but rather not being the witness for the Lord as I should. I should be warning the wicked to flee from the wrath to come, or like the angels told Lot as he, and his wife and two daughters fled from Sodom and Gommorah, "escape for thy life." I use to testify of these things all the time. I remember a young man who came to work at the same company I worked. I had the opportunity of sharing and warning this young man concern the need for salvation from sin and the wrath to come. I remember him saying to me in one of our last conversations before he left the company: "You know. . . I have visited many churches in this city, and heard some great preaching, but none of these churches ever 'discussed' these issuses or ever made me think about where am I going to spent eternity." Unfortunately, this is increasingly the case in many so-called churches as we approach the coming of the Lord. The cries of the damned are real. Even at this very moment as we are still in the flesh top-side, there are millions of souls in the subterranean world screaming, weeping, and wailing in a fiery torment. The bible says that Hell and destruction are before the Lord; I think that we need to pray that God would cause us to see Hell and destruction before us so as to quicken us to action and urgency. I think it was Jonathan Edwards who prayed that the Lord would stamp eternity on his eye-balls. I don't want to be known as just a "nice guy" when I am suppose to be known as a Christian. I need the fire of my first love kindled again for Jesus. Maybe there are other brethren who feel the same; how about sharing your thoughts and feelings on this.
Brother,I do feel the Lord really impressing this subject on my Christian life, I will truly never be the same again. God is so gracious and His Spirit does truly lead us into all truth. O to fully know the anguish and hopelessness of the lost! and to act in full accordance of these thoughts. God give us a heart for the lost souls all around us! give me a heart for the lost. I do pray more people do share how their hearts are being touched by this series on "Hell and everlasting punishment".
