In this sermon, the speaker reflects on the fragility and brevity of life, using a tragic incident involving children as an example. He emphasizes the importance of recognizing the fleeting nature of life and the need to turn away from sinful ways. The speaker also expresses concern about the current state of the church, noting a trend of bringing worldly influences into the church rather than separating from them. He concludes by highlighting the resistance and hypocrisy of those who refuse to acknowledge the transformative power of Jesus in their lives. The sermon serves as a reminder to value and make the most of our one opportunity in life.

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold. You are welcome to make copies for your friends and neighbors. If you would like additional messages, please go to our website for a complete listing at www.charityministries.org. If you would like a catalog of other sermons, please call 1-800-227-7902 or write to Charity Ministries, 400 West Main Street, Suite 1, EFRA PA 17522. These messages are offered to all without charge by the free will offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. I'd like to speak this morning on the doctrine of eternal hell. I realize that as the years go on in all of our lives, it is easy sometimes to put it behind us, especially us as Christians. We feel like we are past that. We wrestled with that through until we came to salvation, but it's very easy for us to neglect that teaching. And I'd just like to read this scripture here in Matthew 25, and then we would like to look at this teaching in the Bible, this doctrine, this truth, that we should not forget. Matthew 25, verse 41. Then shall he say unto them on the left hand, Depart from ye, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Now we may need to ask a few questions here at the beginning. A question often comes up in witnessing and talking to unbelievers. Why did God make evil? Why did God make evil is the first one. And why would God make a hell? And why would he make it eternal? Why did God allow evil or make it that people... Why didn't he just create people good and nice and lovely and friendly and obedient? Yes, that's exactly right. Why did he give them free choice? That's right. And that brings with it risks, doesn't it? That some may choose not to follow him. Whenever God creates people, and I think the real reason is that... The other real reason is, I really believe it's the most honorable thing what he did, but he didn't want a bunch of robots where people would just do what he commanded them to do without any decision in it, without any volition in it, without any weighing the two choices that are before them and then choosing the right. I think heaven will express that to us all throughout eternity when we get to spend with the thousands and millions of people who have weighted in the balance and made their choice to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, why did he create hell? He created hell for the devil and his angels. And let's look at angels just a little bit here this morning as we look at this. Why did he create it for the devil and his angels? That's right. They also at a time, it doesn't seem like it's that way now, but there was a time when he created the angels also as creatures of choice. And they were able to choose, like I say, I don't know that they are able to do that now, the Bible is silent on where that door closed because the ones that sinned and went with the devil cannot repent and the ones that seem to make their decision with God doesn't seem to be able to choose to fall away today. And God is silent on how he did all that. But he created hell for the devil and his angels. And let's just think about that a little bit. One of the reasons why is that angels are created an immortal being. He created them an immortal being, which is a good thing, not a bad. I was thinking, meditating upon it this morning. And likewise, mankind. He created mankind, breathed into his nostrils a breath of life, and man became a living soul, which means what? He can never be annihilated and go to nothing. And I think that's a wonderful thing that God did. What if we would spend our three score and ten years here on earth and then all at once we would go into oblivion, into nothingness, and never have anything, you know, and you'd spend this space of time and that would be the end. That surely wouldn't be a good thing. But he created man when he breathed into his nostrils that men would live forever. Angels will live forever. They are an immortal being. Now, when angels sinned and kept not their first estate, as 2 Peter 2 and Jude gives us the facts there, and he reserves them under chains of darkness to be reserved under the judgment of the great day, what was God supposed to do with them? Now, think it out. When they chose wrong and they decided to go with the devil, approximately a third, it seems, as we take from the book of Revelation, went to follow the devil, what was he supposed to do with them? And the question comes home to us when we realize what do parents do with a totally rebellious, obnoxious son in their house? Even in the world you will see this. They finally get so frustrated with their rebellion and them going their own way that they chase them out of the house. They don't want them around anymore. It so vexes their soul. And God is the same way. He had to do something with them. They're going to live forever. And the other reason is that God isn't just God. And a just God demands a punishment for wrongdoing. Now, that's an important thing. I was looking for that verse. I couldn't find it. I'm sure some of you have it, maybe at the tip of your tongue in Proverbs, that it says because sentence is not executed speedily against them that do evil, the idea is the heart of them is strengthened to do evil. And so we have that situation today. And I'd just like for us to stop and think about it for a moment. My dear brothers and sisters, there must be consequences in this world for evil doing. If not, then there would be chaos in the universe and chaos in eternity. There must be a place reserved where God is going to take the obnoxious, rebellious, impossible son and put him somewhere, angel or person, and lock him up there so that he does not disturb the rest of the peaceful eternity that will live forever. And like I say, I think many of you realize that you could be pushed to the same place, even though you are quite tolerant and you allow a lot more than you should allow. Nevertheless, it is a fact that there must be consequences to wrongdoing. And if there are not consequences laid out to people for wrongdoing, the sin only grows, it only expands, it only increases, it only multiplies in our homes and in our businesses and in our nations. That's the way it is. Any nation who will have no consequence for wrongdoing ceases to be a society in a matter of years. It will totally collapse. You look at the island of, some of the islands in the Caribbean that were ruled by the pirates back in the 1700s when they would intercept the gold being shipped out of Central America into Spain and they would try to intercept them and rob them and then take them into an island and that island was nothing but murder and hate and robbery and greed and avarice and everything you can imagine. A society totally collapses. Where are they today? There's no beautiful island in the Caribbean that's full of pirates. They have disintegrated, they have brought themselves to naught. And there are many other nations like that. But the secret that comes home to us today as I meditated upon it this week that there must be consequences for wrongdoing with God and there must be consequences for wrongdoing with mankind. And that is right and just and good. Those things have to happen. Any father who will allow sin and disobedience and lying and stealing and total defiance of authority in his home will only strengthen the heart, will only harden to do more of it. And so that's a burden upon my heart and I just had to look at this whole matter of eternal hell and I realized God gave mankind potential when he made him a free choosing agent there and gave him free will. But it is the most beautiful thing and I long for the eternal state that will be filled with people that will be there out of free will. Because they looked at the odds, they looked at the Savior and they chose him. And therefore they are saved today and are awaiting their reward. And many, many have already gone to it, but I believe it will only increase as the great. judgment seat of Christ takes place and those that have done right and served the Lord will only get a greater reward in the future for that. You know man just thinks they can do whatever they want, whenever they want it and still go to heaven today. But I am here to tell you that there is other news. We have a place here that is prepared for the devil and his angels. It was not designed for mankind, but yet like I say when man chose and God gave him the potential and gave him the opportunity and man chose to follow the devil and follow the world and follow a life of sin. God has to do something with him. They are going to live forever and they can't be roaming through eternity and spoiling everything for everybody else like rebels do today on earth. And so God has chosen to put them with the devil and his angels into a place called hell. And therefore we have the doctrine of eternal hell. We want to look at some facts and some scriptures about this. We realize that we have, maybe should try to close a little bit early due to the group that has been here all weekend. But I hope we can just give this and let it sink deep in our hearts here this morning. The Bible says in Psalms 9 verse 17 that the wicked shall be turned into hell and all nations that forget God. And I like to give this as a universal absolute fact this morning taken out of the word of God. Hell is no joke, hell is no byword, hell is no curse word. Hell is a living reality in the universe today. We don't know exactly where it is. We believe it may be down in the center of the earth somewhere because as you look at the circle of the globe every direction to hell is always referred to as the way down. And the righteous up. And that's a beautiful, a wonderful thing. I believe when paradise was in the earth it perhaps existed close to the proximity of hell as we have with the rich man and Lazarus and they were able to see from one to the other. But there was a great gulf fixed that no man could see from the one to the other. And when Jesus died on the cross for sins of humanity He led captivity captive. He took paradise out of that realm and took it into the realms of the presence of God or the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, I believe. And from that day on it seems like hell is in the center of the earth somewhere. In this place every direction would be down. And the Bible talks about Jesus descending to the lower parts of the earth and preaching to the spirits in prison. And we only can speculate the details of that. We are not given that detail in the word of God. And so we have to let what all happened there. But I do believe He preached to them and showed them that He was the Savior that was prophesied all through the Old Testament even to Adam that some of them accepted in paradise by faith and others rejected it and therefore are in hell today. If one were left to his own choosing a person would not preach on a subject like this. But I am beginning to realize more than more more as time goes on that this is a subject that is not being preached. I sat in the last two evenings in the meetings that were held here the BMA ministers meeting and it was brought to our attention that in the seeker friendly churches this subject is taboo. Never is a mention of hell made in a message as I understand in most of those churches throughout the world today. The large mega churches and the people are not hearing young people are growing up and are not hearing the doctrine of eternal hell that there is a reality to this that all of us need to be reminded of again and again even for the saved. And why would that be? Why do we have to be reminded of hell even for the saved? Yes, we have relatives, we have friends, we have neighbors we have acquaintances that are not saved and for us to put hell behind us and have the beautiful relationship with God and the assurance of salvation is a wonderful thing and that guilt and that fear does not need to grip our hearts anymore praise God but we have many in our families and friends and neighbors that are lost people and for us to come to grips with the fact that if they die they had a heart attack here the other night and a man had a scrape with death the ambulance was called, he didn't survive it and we know, some of us who know Mickey Hughes know how near he had a scrape with death again but all of us hang between life and death in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye we can just lose it and for the individual who is not prepared to meet his God and a relative that you have, though you love dearly and you can hardly speak to them about it because it's so uncomfortable yet if they do not know the Lord Jesus Christ they will be lost and they will go to hell and there are no exits there as Leonard Ravenhill once preached the message that there are no exits in hell the Bible says that hell opened wide her mouth but it never gives any indication that there's a way out it opens wide her mouth to receive people into it but there is no exit and the city of heaven, the Bible says that they will go in and out of the city at will but there's never anything like that in hell where men will go in and out at will they have to dwell, there is a prison and as Jude gives it the angels which kept not their first estate are reserved under chains in hell under darkness reserved unto the judgment of the great day now there's different Greek meanings of that but I don't think I'll go into that I'll just say the word sheol has a double application sometimes used to designate the grave and sometimes referring to the place of departed spirits the authorized version, the words grave and hell are each used 31 times it's derived from the word sheol and then Gehenna is used 12 times in the Greek New Testament means the place of future punishment we all know that it is an unmistakable subject it's not misinterpreted it is so often talked about so often written about there are more scriptures on hell than there are on heaven and God wants us to not miss that that we do not mistaken this message and this fact it matters not by what name the place may be known the scriptures teach that there is a place of endless punishment for the wicked and this is the theme to which we want to speak about here this morning the place is described in scripture as a lake of fire in the book of Revelation burning with brimstone in Revelation 19.20 fire in brimstone in Revelation 14.10 it's called hell fire in Matthew 5.22 and unquenchable fire in Matthew 3.17 it's called everlasting burning in Isaiah 33.14 and everlasting contempt in Daniel 12.2 everlasting fire in Matthew 25.41 and everlasting punishment again in Matthew 25.46 outer darkness in Matthew 25.30 damnation of hell in Matthew 23.33 it's called a furnace of fire in Matthew 13.50 where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched in Mark 9.44 vengeance of eternal fire in Jude 7 and smoke of the torment ascending forever and ever in Revelation 14.11 and then tormented day and night forever and ever in Revelation 20.10 we sometimes say you know we talk about the Jehovah's Witness they don't believe in the doctrine of eternal hell and they don't but what is so far and they have many other false doctrines and false prophecies in their beliefs but the question is not what do the Jehovah's Witness believe and what do they not believe this morning and the seventh day in Venice or the Mormon church which likewise the latter day saints do not believe in the eternal hell but the question is do you and I still believe in the eternal hell is that looming up in our minds do we think of that at times when we see a poor lost soul that unless he meets the gospel message and believes in the Lord Jesus Christ he shall be lost and there is no hope for him after the grave men have questioned this throughout the years and have tried as I would say to find a bypass to it to somehow escape the reality it is unthinkable when we think, when we humanly speaking when we think of a soul swimming around in a lake of fire and brimstone actually being tormented and in pain like the rich man was when he says I am tormented in this flame that is unthinkable that anything like that would happen but it is just and right for God to do it because he has made a way of escape through Jesus Christ and there is, we are without excuse we are without excuse but do we believe that is that a reality do tears come to our eyes and do we get burdened in heaviness for the souls of men at times relatives especially and friends that we know and business acquaintances that are not prepared to meet God and are showing no interest in it whatsoever and you know many have tried to speculate a bypass and speculate another way and tried to undo it but there are so many scriptures which I quoted here already without quoting the entire verse but it is unmistakable there is no escape there is no way around it there is no translational error it is there and must be faced for whom is it prepared well hell is prepared for the devil and his angels as we mentioned in Matthew 25 14 divine justice has prepared this place for them and it is a just punishment for the accuser and his followers to prevent them from doing evil forever right now we have the prince of the power of the air we have the spirit that is abroad on the earth that works in the children of disobedience but there is coming a day when that will stop and cease and you will be locked up and bound up and will deceive the nations no more God has to have a place to put him and to hold him there it amazes me at the demons you know especially the Gadarean the spirits were strong in him and he was a powerful man that he could break the chains when they would try to lock him up or to tie him fast to somewhere and he would just break him and he was a strong man but he couldn't break the chain of demonism and sin in his life but when the Lord Jesus Christ came to him the demons spoke out and said Arta come to torment us before our time they know what's coming they know their doom they know their destiny and they are given time here to dwell in mankind who chose to allow them in and to cause all the havoc and the trouble they have because we are free creatures of choice but there is a day coming when they will be tormented likewise and they will deceive and possess no more but I'm just amazed at how they know that they are going to be tormented and they beg the Lord to send them into some swine and they want to go from place to place to dwell in some animal or in some man and all that because they are so dreading the day when they will be locked up and be tormented in the fires of hell themselves a lot of people give them as to doing the tormenting and I'm not here to say whether they will do that or not I'm sure they will make hell a terrible and miserable place just by their presence and the way they are and the way we have seen how they act and what they do but it seems that we also must believe that they likewise will suffer they likewise will suffer hell was not prepared for man no one with a true heart living and walking with God need have any fear of hell and I praise God for that the child of God so long as his face is set heavenward his heart is open to truth he's walking with the Lord and he keeps his life relatively up to date and at peace with God and can put hell as far as a reality in his own fear of his own life he can put it besides him and does not have to fear hell and not have to live in trembling what if, what if and thinking where are we going down over the hill we don't know which way it's going to fall God has been able to give us life and life abundantly and assurance of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord he has not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ and that is a joyous and wonderful thing and should settle upon the hearts of all mankind if you don't have that because you are living in the in-between world with one foot in the world and one foot in the church or in Christ then you should fear then you should tremble because you don't know what the judge the righteous judge will do with you but for the most part we believe that the souls that are in this room that have given their hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ they are able to put the fear of hell behind them but not the reality of it not the reality of it he that heareth my word the Bible says in John 5 24 and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death unto life and that is a beautiful beautiful hope and blessing that we have you know in the situation there with the rich man and Lazarus I heard a preacher once say that the rich man was carried excuse me Lazarus was carried and the rich man buried do you want to be carried or do you want to be buried and that's a choice that we can make by whether we ought to receive salvation the gospel of Jesus Christ by faith who will go there well the Bible says in Revelation 20 verse 14 that death and hell will be cast into the lake of fire the sinner unpardoned not repentant not coming to Christ is twice dead he will die a physical death and he will die an eternal death he is dead twice the spiritual man the godly man will have two resurrections he will have a resurrection now in newness of life and he will wake up in spiritual reality with God and then he will also raise from the dead after he dies physically and so will he ever be with the Lord and live with God the sinner unpardoned is twice dead the power of sin has dominion over him all his life and because he makes no effort to escape death comes along and shuts off all avenues of escape the souls dead in trespass and sins find themselves after the judgment which is the second death to be cast into the lake of fire let me say that again the souls dead today in trespass and sins young people in rebellion going their own way defiance of all authority in their life are on their way to hell and they only await the judgment of God upon their life only those who have submitted themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance for sin the sin nature that is in them and yielded their heart and life to God can escape the vengeance of hell Bible says all of death and all the doomed in hell will be cast in the lake of fire which burneth with brimstone forever and ever as we mention in Revelation 14 another group of people the wicked shall go to hell as the scripture that we mentioned first the wicked and all nations that forget God will go into hell they will likewise be cast into hell Psalms 9 17 they are those that delight in ungodliness following their own sinful lust and their own sinful ways enticing others to sin trying to get them to rebel and them to disobey and them to take party in subversive dark activity rejoicing in the defeat and downfall of those who have already followed the Lord Jesus Christ and are backslidden have you ever seen that? I've seen that so many times when someone backslides or makes a little attempt at salvation and then backslides his buddies just come up and just befriend him and just pull him down and even when they try to get out of it and live the Christian life they try to drag him down and pull each other down like they're comfortable so much like they have some kind of glory and comfort to drag each other down but you know what? when a person is divinely born again and has a testimony of God and they shove him out they don't want him there anymore I remember when a young a big Abe up in Ontario got born again you know his friends all said oh we want to come to your baptism we want to come to your baptism he said sure I'll tell you when he called them up and he said here's the hour here's the day of my baptism out there in Ontario at Lake Erie but when the day come none of them showed up conviction of sin Abe was transformed by the power of God and he's a faithful brother married and has a couple of children today and God saved him he stood in the Niagara River one day in water up to his legs up to his groin nearly just debating whether he wanted to jump and go down over the falls and commit suicide but God saved him from a drunk and wretched fornicating life and set him free and now his buddies didn't want to come to his baptism because they had the smoke of hell already on them many times and they feel so uncomfortable you know that they just don't want to be his friends anymore and that's the way it ought to be if your old buddies are still your friends and you still have your chumming times together after you've been born again you better examine your new birth though the wicked sometimes fare well in time and we know they do as David said when he beheld the prosperity of the wicked he said my feet nearly slipped I saw there was no bands in their death they seemed to prosper and they had all the money and the food and whatever you want I'm paraphrasing it but he said when I considered their end I saw what was going to happen to them I saw where they're going he said my feet stood firm I didn't want to go that way I considered eternity I considered no exits in hell I considered no way out and I stood firm I didn't want to follow them and that's the way every one of us need to do a few times and a few more in our Christian life oh it's good for us to stop and consider the fires of hell at times like I said even though after 40 some years of being a Christian you're able to put that aside and not fear hell and God took that fear away oh it's good for me to consider the fires of hell from time to time they cannot escape the just punishment for their sins in eternity not only will the wicked be turned into the awful place but all kind of sinners the polite sinner is going to go there as well as the rough sinner the moral sinner will go there as well as the immoral sinner the polite culture the accomplished moral sinner will not be justified for he is a robber and a murderer he still hates people and he still has major issues with his life and therefore he likewise even though he has polished his life up and made it look half reasonable and all that at times if he's not been born again as a child of God and has the blood atonement upon his life he can't go to heaven he'll go to hell when he dies no matter how morally upright and good he is number three those that forget God oh this gets closer home to us that have been Christians for a number of years or have made a good start like the seed planted upon the rocky soil and sprung up and there was some life there but when the sun came out with a burning heat it withered away those that forget God or neglect God and go back on their promise and go back on their commitment and follow the world and follow the devil and follow your sinner friend again and get sucked in to the sinner's life and the sinner's world they must fear the vengeance of eternal fire people that forget God Pharaoh knew not God though he had God's people in his land when Moses came to him he says I don't know this God who is he? but he found out who he was and he chose not to follow and submit his heart but hardened his heart and he was destroyed and Pharaoh's in hell today I believe with all my heart Nebuchadnezzar likewise he also had an encounter with God but he chose to depart and not to receive him and not to honor him for a length of time and he too went to his own place as the Bible says about Judas he forgot God and rose up in pride and arrogance concerning himself men and nations in time of prosperity are prone to forget God individuals likewise they live in ease and drift into wickedness they worship one another or they worship self we have a lot of that today they get up and look in the mirror and worship yourself and try to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps that will not get you out of hell worship one another or self or something else because of the wickedness of their minds and hearts they do not like to retain God in their knowledge Romans 1 says when they knew God they honored him not as God we're talking to people who knew God and it's possible to be have been a Christian and not honor him and worship him and give him a full allegiance and then decided I don't like him anymore I don't want to retain him in my knowledge anymore to those God has given them over to a reprobate mind to do these things which are unseemly and they become the wicked of the earth I heard of a couple of boys that fell away from God recently and they are so bad I understand that even their sinner friends can hardly stand them they have went to a deeper depth away from God than the common individual and that often happens those who forget God the wicked in all nations that forget God shall be turned into hell number four those who do not repent repentance is the gateway by which sinners escape the wrath of God and the doom of hell those who will not repent frustrate the love and grace of God and reject the great gift of God the Lord Jesus Christ and to them they will await the eternal doom of hellfire and judgment of almighty God likewise repentance is that first step not alone repentance but repentance is that first step when an individual must humble himself and acknowledge that I am a sinner I have done wrong I have been against God I have not received Him I have not opened my heart I have not confessed my sin and acknowledge Him wherever there is a mind of the impenitent sinner that causes this refusal the root is often self-carnal self-will and it leads men to all manner of sin and finally to ruin and to endless hell number five is hypocrites oh we hear so much about them oh I don't want to go to church that church is full of hypocrites I got wounded there I got hurt there well there's sure a lot more of them going to be in hell and if you don't go to church and don't be with God's people and hear the gospel and receive the Lord Jesus Christ you'll go to hell and there will be a lot more hypocrites there than there were in any church the Bible talks about them religious people scribes and pharisees hypocrites in Matthew chapter 23 that hallmark chapter against them and he says how can you escape the damnation of hell when he spoke about them because they were so against Christ and so resisted Him and wouldn't receive Him and didn't want Him around I was so impressed again by that simple story of the blind man brother Dean oh the reality of that blind man and how they've treated that poor man who was blind from his birth and all that happened he met the Lord Jesus Christ he wasn't even going through the towns and causing a great disturbance he was just seeing and sharing his testimony when people asked him what happened to you well a man came by the name of Jesus came around and touched me and now I can see I was blind but now I can see oh they were furious whenever a man resists the reality of a changed life he is a hard hearted hypocrite who doesn't want the truth and there's usually not much you can do for them until they have an encounter with God somehow to break their hard heart who are in danger of going there let's look at some others we want to look at a class of people who speak disrespectfully the Bible says in Matthew 5.22 whosoever shall say thou fool shall be in danger of hell fire Matthew 5.22 Christ is very emphatic on this point and points out the greatest danger of speaking disrespectfully the Pharisees spoke disrespectfully concerning Christ asking if he were not a Samaritan and had a devil another time he cast out devils by Beelzebub they said and actually blasphemed there they ascribed Jesus speaking through the power of the devil or the greatest of devils an awful thing Christ declared this kind of talk blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is a sin never to be forgiven in this world or in the world to come Matthew 12.32 the next group we want to look at is offenders offenders the Bible said whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that shall believe on me it were better that a millstone were hung around their neck than to be drowned in the depths of the sea God will not tolerate offenders we were talking about how buddies treat each other and a young man stands out finally gets bold enough he wants to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and his buddies hiss at him and mock him and make a fool of him and all this you know they are offenders trying to offend a little one that believes in him there is no hope for an offender none whatsoever except repentance you know but not as long as he he continues to offend the Bible says it must needs be that offenses come I think they are good for us young boys if you get mocked you thank God for that that's a good test a good experience shame makes you feel rotten when you are rejected by a crowd of boys and say get out of here you goody you know and what have you and they don't want you in there and they start whispering behind your back that's a humiliating experience but it's good for us because we are now in the kingdom of God and that's a persecuted crowd so it's good for us to join that don't you get scared when something like that happens it shocks us doesn't it when we get born again and we find out that even church boys treat us like that sometimes that are not converted it must needs be that offense coming but word to him by whom they come not good to offend the little one that believes we should get underneath them and bless them I so appreciate that we can walk up to them within minutes sometimes I love that when they have been born again they are still crying and wiping their tears and we can give them a hug and bless them and wish them well and pray for them also Matthew 13, 41 the offenders there must be gathered out of his kingdom all things that offend the Bible says and cast into a furnace of fire not sure I have that quoted quite right but very closely another group of people that will go to hell is careless and indifferent church members listen I want to listen myself I am not indifferent I just want to listen myself careless and indifferent church members the sad thought that church members should be in the dangers of hell fire is a reality we must face the teachings of Christ and the apostles bring to our minds such a fact there is an annihilation of fire there is a demons who love this present world there is a Judas who followed the Lord for three and a half years and went back for money and betrayed the Lord there are Simon's sorcerers that have been baptized and loved the power of witchcraft and didn't renounce it and separated himself from it and there are others there are others who professed and did not possess or didn't go on to possess maybe they even possessed for a time by canonizing of fire I have no evidence otherwise but were caught away with the lust of their own heart and they lied to the Holy Ghost and were punished with death professors who do not read their Bibles do not pray who join hands with the world in vain amusements and display going after the lust of the flesh the passions of the world living in sin so many so many young people that you can't tell the difference between the youth of the world and the youth of the church in much of evangelical Christianity today professed Christianity many are bent on having their own way rather than submitting unto God and dressing in modest clothing and having the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit not running with them that chase after the things of the world and they become completely wrapped up in sin and there will be terrible consequences I believe for careless and indifferent cold hearted church members who depart from the ways of God the ways of prayer and Bible study and Bible reading and give themselves over to the lust of their flesh and pleasure and wantonness it's a major, major disease of America and I don't mean that word like it's used many times but it's the great sickness of the evangelical world today oh how we must be careful there and then the doomed in hell they do not desire the place if we look at just look at the people who have gone there who have spoken from there you know we think of the rich man he didn't like the place he hated it so much he didn't want anybody else to come there he didn't want a bunch of friends to come down there and party with him he didn't want anybody else to come they desire no company no prayers are answered he begged for a drop of water but it wasn't given him and he begged that somebody go tell his brother and they were told they have Moses and the prophets let him hear them he didn't even answer that prayer and that would seem to make the begging and the pleading all the more painful another one they have no rest the fire continues to burn the worm dieth not and I don't know what that means I've wondered for a long time in my Christian life and the Bible is not explicit on what it means that the worm dieth not but it would at least suggest that it's an awful wormy place and I don't think there are very many of us that like worms but can you imagine a place where the worm never dies and the fire's not quenched so it has to be a tormenting thing the worm doesn't die and the fire's not quenched both are miserable situations in that place moaning, wailing, weeping sobbing, lamenting gnashing of teeth the Bible says and all the other things the sad and woeful sounds of the troubled and tormented soul continues unstopped remorse, despair no rest no rest ever in hellfire Lucifer is there the fallen angels are there maybe millions of them I don't know their number it's not given but it does sound according to the word of God that there could be millions of them not a nice place to be miserable and they are tormented the Bible says day and night forever I can't explain forever but I just want to be simple enough to believe it it's the record that God gave in the Scripture that men and women will be tormented day and night forever and ever and that must be believed and we must prepare for it and we must warn people of it you know there's this second chance theory that has floated around in Christianity through the years well, maybe through the thousand year reign I get another chance or somehow maybe I can I'll burn for a while they have the Catholic purgatory that we'll burn for a while and we'll pay for our sins with a certain amount of time there and then we can get out of it but there's no such thing in the Bible that's a human concoction there's no such thing as a purgatory and no escape route and no redemption in hell it is appointed on the man once to die and after it's the judgment the German preachers say no repentance in hell or the grave and no repentance in hell they have no possible way of escape the Bible says all the wicked must go there and remain there in life we know how it is men climb over walls they break locks bars I remember when a prisoner a lady married a prisoner and she gave presented the wedding cake when they took the wedding cake apart it was full of hacksaw blades inside short hacksaw blades hoping the man could saw himself out and escape and they could live their married life men have done those things and have gotten out never been caught even they break bars and windows they dig tunnels and resort to other means of escaping justice but my dear friends brothers, sisters from the prison house of hell there is no escape none whatsoever the answer to the rich man was there's a great gulf fixed that you cannot pass like trying to jump over the Grand Canyon no man would be able to do it Solomon says there's a way that seemeth right unto all men but the end thereof is a way of death the Bible further speaks about a broad way there's a broad way that leadeth unto destruction the broad way is wide enough to accommodate all kinds of people on it today all graves of sinners the hypocrite in the church the self-righteous moralist in town outside the church the extortioner the thief the liar the fornicator the harlot the drunkard the murderer the haughty the vain the pleasure seeker and lover they're all on the broad way and the broad way is wide enough for them all it's an amazing thing you have some of those crowds that totally shun each other you know, you may have the the banker's daughter dancing in some ball of some kind and she wouldn't be in the house of ill repute but yet they're both on the broad way to destruction and they will spend hell together and yet how together? how alone is hell? it's a place of outer darkness the bible says even able to see another person ever is a question bottomless pit imagine never landing you have also that description the world compromising way in this day when the devil does his most effective work there is a tendency for the churches to make compromises almost any point of the church truth and doctrine and scripture and try to walk together with the world it's probably one of the greatest threat to those that are sitting in this room false teaching, false doctrine compromising with sin the world false prophecy been studying that again lately and just seeing what is happening in the world today and it's just really really heart gripping see how in general the professed Christian is the direction they're going in how to bring the world into the church not only reluctantly letting them in like we have known over the past my lifetime and longer than that but now they're welcoming in the door they want to bring them in to set up in the foyer and entertain the people or give them food and drink church coffee and donuts and hamburgers and what have you can you imagine the bible says turn ye from your evil ways for why will you die look unto me Jesus says and be ye saved all ye ends of the earth and you know we only have life once through this world once through this world a life spent in sin can never be lived over again we have one shot at it so to speak we have one opportunity it's called life just the other day children were jumping off the steps you know well I told my wife I can just imagine what happens you know there were different sized children one would go up in one step little child and jump off and then the second one would go up another step and jump off and finally about a fourteen year old girl went up about six steps and jumped off and hit her head at the top knocked her back and she landed with her head solid on the concrete she's on a breathing machine I think or at least injured very badly in the fall and whether she'll ever be normal is a question if not disconnected by this time I don't know exactly how that is but those are the kind of things that happen and those are the ages visit the cemetery look at the size of the graves even though there are many more old people that died than young but the young die too I so tremble for the rebellious teenager who thinks he has 50 60 years to do it nonchalant and even cocky about it thinking I don't need to respond I don't need to give my heart to the Lord I'm going to enjoy life and live my own way and maybe sometime I'll settle down and give my heart to the Lord and know not that they are taking this hell matter right in front of them moment by moment that should something happen it would cast them in the hell of which there is never a way back or redo or escape well there are many other scriptures I want to close and I think we will just close our eyes again meditate a bit and pray Father you know how many there are among us who are not saved still going their own way rebellious disobedient listening to rock music never responding to an invitation as preachers over the years have cried plead and preached oh God how long will they resist the tender love loving opportunities that the good grace of God has offered them and finally we know if they will not there is only one place reserved for them and that's the eternal fires of hell but we would spare them Lord we would spare them and take them into the arms of love and faith in the Christian body if only they would break their hard hearts and give their life to you we pray in Jesus name Amen I have an invitation hymn brother Andy anyone would like to respond come up quickly kneel here and counselors you be ready to take them parents or whoever lead them to the Lord in the back room while we close shall we sing 906 will you come will you come just come in your heart to the Lord to Jesus he will save you he will save you we need to remember many things not only the day we were born again but we need to remember there is an eternal hell remembering that can also have an effect upon our life because it's part of the full gospel isn't it the whole gospel because if we don't really need to be saved why do we need a savior there really isn't a hell if there really isn't all of these things but there really is as we heard this morning and I thank God that we can preach those things well we need to move on the ones that are praying down front why don't you just go to the back and continue to pray there's some prayer rooms and some of you that are counselors may need to go back there as well with some of them looks like we might need a couple of men that are counselors to go back there with them thank you Amen I thought of another thing Brother Moses was talking about why God you know made us with that or why did God allow evil why did God make us with that ability of choice one of the reasons is what would love really mean if it wasn't by choice you know what would love mean if you could force someone against their will push a button to make them love you would that be love by definition no and so God who loves us amazingly desires us to love him but he knows the only way that can be is if we choose to love him of our own will so by necessity and definition we had to have a free will in order to love him but then that also opens the door to choose to reject him and to love ourselves in our own way rather than loving God in his way