This sermon emphasizes the consequences of sin and the necessity for punishment due to God's holiness. It delves into the concept of hell as a place of eternal separation from God for those who reject Him. However, it also presents the hope of salvation through Jesus Christ, who paid the penalty for sin on the cross, offering a way to bridge the gap between humanity and God through faith and repentance.

Sin is lawlessness. The creator of the universe, the Lord Jesus, is a God of love. And because he is a God of love, he must punish sin. In the same way that a loving society must punish crimes. The Bible talks about this punishment for sin. We know it's called hell or separation from God. It says in Psalm 9, 17, the wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God. Revelation 21, 8 says, but I will tell you what will happen to the cowards and to everyone who is unfaithful or dirty minded or who is murderers or sexually immoral. Or uses witchcraft or worships idols or tells lies. They will be thrown into a lake of fire and sulfur. This is the second death. Many of us have heard the phrase God forsaken place, you know, that town, that's a God forsaken place. Well, I'm here to tell you there's a place in this universe where the presence of God is not and that is hell. The worst part of hell is the fact that the presence of God is not there. It's completely gone. So we see that we've all violated God's moral laws and that the punishment for that is eternal separation from God. But the message of the Bible doesn't end there. The Bible says in 2 Peter chapter three, verse nine, the Lord is isn't slow about keeping his promise, as some men think he is. In fact, God is patient because he wants every one to turn from sin and no one to be lost. If you are here today and you do not intimately know God, the creator of this universe as your father. Know this. He wants to be a father to you. But he will not force himself on anyone. He wants to help you through this difficult life. But there is a wall of sin between us and God. That is why God sent his son to pay the penalty for sin on the cross. Jesus Christ came here 2000 years ago. As God wrapped in a human body, he was tempted to sin at all points, yet lived a sinless life. And those that loved sin in his day spit on him and mocked him and beat him and nailed him to a cross. Many of us here have seen the movie The Passion of the Christ. And we've seen the agony that Jesus had to go through to pay for our sins. That blood, that innocent blood was shed for you and I so that we can have all our sins washed away. And that blood will tear down the wall between you and God. That means you can actually have the God of this universe, the creator of this universe, you can actually know him as your daddy. He wants to be your friend. He will give you hope for the future. He will take away depression, guilt, anger, addictions, lusts, anxiety and loneliness. But you first must turn from sin and put your hope in Jesus only. Salvation is simply this. I'm walking along life. I'm going my own self-chosen way, doing what I want to do, living an independent life from God. And Jesus comes behind me and says, turn to me. And I have a dilemma. I can continue to go my own way, fulfilling the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Or I can turn from this wicked world in my heart and put my faith in Jesus Christ. That's salvation. Many of you that came in here and when you sat down, you depended that that seat was going to hold you up. Faith is not only believing that there is a Jesus. Many people here will say, yes, I believe there's a Jesus. But faith is also helplessly depending upon Jesus, putting your faith in him. I cannot put my faith in the fact that I go to church or that I'm a good person or that I was baptized as a baby. Maybe you're here today and you're a very good moral person, but you live a life independent of God.