Why Hell Should Alarm You

I'm sure if you're like most folks, you seldom if ever think about hell. It's too easy to occupy your time in front of your TV, glued to your favorite pastime, or enjoying your grandkids or your favorite meal with friends. Why spend time thinking about a morbid subject like hell and the miseries of the damned? And seldom if ever will you hear a sermon on hell at church because most pastors just will speak about the love of God, the glory of God, the benefits of heaven, and eternal security.

But why is it you won't hear a sermon on hell? Because few ministers today want to alarm you or upset you because they wouldn't know what to do with an awakened sinner. It would just scare the daylights out of them. All we know today about salvation is someone making the decision.

Besides, why preach an upsetting topic that might get the good deacons mad at you? It's not worth it. So instead we preach nice little messages that don't upset anybody, much less bring them under conviction of sin. But I'm going to give you today, friends, some reasons why hell should alarm you.

Are you ready? Hang on to your seats. Things are going to get a little hot now. They're going to heat up a bit.

But wouldn't you rather hear a hot sermon on hell than end up there yourself? My text can be found in Luke's gospel in chapter 16. You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends. We'll be in verses 19 through 30.

It's the familiar story of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man lived like many today. He lived for the hour.

He lived for pleasure and the gratification of his appetites. He wore expensive clothes, lived in a fine home, and had plenty of disposable income to lavish upon himself. Only the best for me was his motto in life.

Well, on the other hand, there was that poor beggar named Lazarus, who in verse 20 of our text says, was laid at his gate full of sores. This old beggar couldn't work for a living because he was lame. And he was full of sores, so he was in a constant putrefying state of wanton suffering.

The contrast of the rich man and Lazarus is significant if only by the fact that when the poor beggar is named, we see he was rich toward God. For when he died, he went to be with God, to Abraham's bosom, we read, to enjoy him forever. The rich man was nameless because the rich and famous of this world are forgotten in hell's flames.

Their reputations are devoured there. They may have been movers and shakers here on earth, but in hell, they're just tremblers and sufferers, as our text goes on to declare. And although the rich man had a big fancy funeral with many tributes by his friends about his greatness while on earth, in verse 23, we read, and in hell, he lift up his eyes being in torments.

I'm going to tell you friends why hell should alarm you. Hell should alarm you because number one, the sufferings in hell are endless. Jesus said that hell was a place where the worm dieth not.

The damned in hell at this very hour are engulfed in torments that never end. Their suffering is eternal. Endless misery is their companion.

Number two, hell should alarm you because hell is a terrifying region. Jesus described hell as outer darkness, a bottomless pit. It's a region of complete and utter darkness like outer space, and instead of an occasional twinkling star to light the sky, there's just spewing flames like that of a volcano.

Hell is a consuming, burning oven. When I was just a kid of a boy in high school, I worked at a local grocery store as a sacker. One of my duties was to take the cardboard boxes that the produce came in and flatten them with a box cutter, stack them high on a dolly, then drag them to the back of the store where I had to cast them into a cast iron furnace for their destruction.

I dreaded that furnace because every time I opened that heavy iron door, the intense heat of those white hot swirling flames would singe my face, and that burning oven of heat made a sickening roar as it did its work of burning. In Malachi, we have a picture of the damned in hell, with God's wrath outpoured upon them. Malachi 4.1 speaks of the judgment of the wicked.

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 in the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that shall leave them neither root nor branch. Hell should alarm you, friend, because of the terrors of that burning inferno. Hell is your nightmare come true.

Number three. Hell should alarm you because your companions in hell are demons. Hell is prepared for the devil and his angels, we're told in our Bible.

Demons will rub up against you in hell. There's nothing you can do about it, and in hell are the worst segments of society, the very dregs of each generation, the serial killers, rapists, and perverts just waiting for you, to torment you, because they're tormented souls themselves, who cry day and night, the screams in hell are deafening. If I could walk you over to the edge of hell, and lift the lid off that bottomless pit, the shrieks of the damned would keep you up tonight, and if you went around to your town this evening, friend, to all your hospitals, and took every patient off their morphine and pain medication, their screams would keep your town awake tonight.

Hell is a noisy region, a noisy pit of noise. It's a chamber of horrors. Once you shut up in there, you can never escape.

The torments of the damned should alarm you. Number four. Hell should alarm you because some of your loved ones may go there.

It's so easy today to be a church member and lost because of the easy belief false gospel of our day. Your spouse, your child, your parent, your best friend could go from the pew to the pit without a moment's notice, just because someone's a good church member doesn't keep them from dying in their sins and being cast into hell, where Jesus says there's weeping and gnashing of teeth. Weeping speaks of great sorrow and grief.

Gnashing of teeth signifies great anger and regret. How many good church members are in hell at this minute would startle you. Your own pastor could be on his way to hell.

Hell should alarm the daylights out of you if you'd only take the time to think upon it. Number five. You yourself may close your eyes to this world and open them in hell like the rich man.

And in hell, he'd lift up his eyes at the heart. It's very deceitful. Many in church today sit upon a rotten bottom of a false faith.

Self-love of many deceives them. They think they have heaven already secured, when in reality, God is angry with the wicked every day. Many live for the world like the rich man did.

Many live for themselves like the rich man did. Many have a good opinion of themselves like the rich man did. But they, like the rich man, will be like the startled individuals spoken of in Matthew chapter seven, who cried and shouted, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then Jesus will profess unto those unconverted church members and those religious decisionists behind the pulpits, I never knew you.

Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Hell should alarm you, friend, because when you die, you just might bust hell wide open and then bother the inhabitants there with your endless shrieks and screams. Yes, there are many reasons why hell should alarm you.

But even for the Christian who will stand before Jesus at the behemoth seat for believers, hell should alarm you for your lack of witnessing to those around you now. Your conscience will haunt you at the judgment. Jesus will look at you and ask, why didn't you tell others about me and the gospel of the cross while you were on earth? Oh, why weren't you more involved in evangelism for my sake and the sake of the gospel? Why weren't you more concerned for the parish? And why didn't you pray more for the unconverted? Why didn't you warn them about the great dangers of a future judgment and the miseries of hell that I spoke so plainly of in my word? Oh, what is your excuse, dear one? Let us pray.