Is There a Hell Do I Deserve to Go There

My message today, friends, is entitled, Is There a Hell and Do I Deserve to Go There? Some people believe that when you die, it's just a blank void and you no longer exist, like an animal dying. There's no afterlife in another world. Some folks believe in some form of heaven, whether it's a paradise or some kind of nirvana, where all pain and suffering is gone.

But take a survey on hell in society today, and you will soon discover, friends, that most folks don't believe in a literal place of punishment for sin called hell. And those that do believe in hell believe they are not bad enough to go there. Most preachers today no longer mention the doctrine of eternal hell.

Hell has been downgraded in the public conscious now for about 60 years. But Jesus preached on hell, and he warned folks not to go there. Jesus said that hell is a region of outer darkness, and it's where the worm dieth not, meaning hell is forever, and it's so dark in there you can't see your hand in front of your face.

Jesus called hell a bottomless pit, meaning even though hundreds of millions of tortured souls currently reside in hell, there's always room for one more. Hell has no bottom. And it continues to fill with the damned every minute.

It's been estimated that on this planet, every minute, 90 people die outside of Christ. That means that every hour, 5,000 new arrivals enter hell and its torments. Throughout the course of a 24-hour day, hell fills with 120,000 tortured souls.

Over a week's time, that comes to over 800,000 people who close their eyes in death and open them in hell without having time to pack a suitcase. Do the math, friend, and every month, hell fills with over 3 million people who die and bust hell wide open. Over the course of a year, the inhabitants of hell is populated with 40 million new arrivals.

As you can see, friends, hell is a very crowded place. Jesus spoke of hell as a place of misery where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. Wailing speaks of deep grief and loss, and gnashing of teeth signifies great anger and regret.

Jesus said it's better to maim yourself and lose an offensive member like a hand or an eye than going to hell full bored. He said, if the right hand offend thee, cut it off and cast it from thee. For it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

And Jesus said that hell is so horrible that you won't want to go there willingly. You will have to be bound hand and foot and thrown in there by angels. But then said the king to the servants, bind him hand and foot and take him away and cast him into outer darkness.

But let's assume, friends, that hell actually exists. The question is, do I deserve to go there? Most folks think that God keeps a scale of weights up in heaven. And when we die, God will weigh our good deeds against our bad.

And if the good outweighs the bad, then we can go to heaven. And consequently, many people believe they are good enough for heaven but not bad enough for hell. That only really evil people go to hell like murderers and child molesters and serial killers and mass murderers like Hitler and Saddam Hussein.

But the truth is, friend, that good people don't go to heaven. Only forgiven people get to go there. Your sins must be washed in the blood of the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The key that unlocks the gates of hell and sends you there is your failure to be perfect. Jesus said that except your righteousness should exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. You see, friend, every mother's son will one day be held up against the strictness and severity of the law of God.

And if you stand there in your own merits, you will fail that test. You must stand in the merits of another, the Lord Christ. You must be clothed in the robe of Christ's righteousness.

You must get under the blood and be born from above to escape the wrath of God in hell. They will burn like a fiery furnace forever in Malachi, we read. For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble.

And the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. You have to get lost, friend, before you can be saved, Jesus said. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

The day I got saved was the day I got lost. God brought me to the place where I not only saw my danger of dying in my sins into a place of punishment called hell, but not only that, I saw that I deserved to go there. Listen, friend, you were born with a sin nature.

You're not a sinner because you sin. Rather, you sin because you are a big sinner. And in your natural condition, you are continually under condemnation for breaking God's holy law, for sin is the transgression of the law, and the sentencing of the law must be carried out upon all guilty rebels.

Many church members dine their sins with a good opinion of themselves, and the shock of hell is too much for them. They are overcome when they get there, as seen in Isaiah. The sinners in Zion are afraid, of fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites, who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire, who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings.

Is there hell? The answer is yes. Do I deserve to go there? I'll let you decide, friend. Repent before it's too late.