The Reality of Hell: The Avoided Doctrine

[Guest shiloh357]

2 minutes ago, Rockson said:

Not in totality he isn't. But I'd say he has a part.

Yes, he has a part, but really, he is just a guide.  He can feed the flock only so much.   When we give an account to the Lord for ourselves, we aren't going to be able to blame anyone else for why we failed to grow spiritually.  Blaming the pastor or anyone else isn't going to work.  We are each responsible for making sure that we are walking with the Lord and growing spiritually and growing in holiness.  

If the only time a person opens their Bible is on Sunday at church, they cannot blame the pastor for their prayers are going nowhere, why they can't hold up under storms of life and why they are always living defeated lives as believers.   Every Christian ought to have a daily schedule of Bible study and prayer time if they want to grow up and mature.  It's has simple as that.    

[ambc]

On 7/12/2018 at 4:01 AM, shiloh357 said:

A lot of ministers today don't preach on the reality of Hell.  It is not a topic that sells books and CD's.  It doesn't build attendance at Christian Bible conferences.   It is one  of the most uncomfortable topics a preacher can preach on.  It is so uncomfortable that many have simply rejected its existence altogether.   It is a missing element in our presentation of the Gospel. 

This is not a discussion of whether or not you think that Hell is an eternal conscious punishment or annihilationism. Either way, Hell is awful and something no one wants.    So please do not start that debate.   This is about the reality of Hell and the need to include it in our presentation of the Gospel.

When I read the works of men like John Wesley, Johnathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, George Whitefield, et al.,   I see a lot of preaching on Hell and it was a significant ingredient in their presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.   They didn't shy away from the topic. It was central in their preaching.   We have lost that today in so much of what is preached.   Today, the preaching on Sunday morning that you get is about things like finances, raising kids, marital problems, breaking bad habits, overcoming additions, etc.   Those are actually more along the line of pastoral counseling issues, and not sermon worthy topics.   Those are not the kinds of issues that need to be dealt with from the pulpit on Sunday morning.  The preacher should not be doing pastoral counseling in his sermons on Sunday. 

We need a return to the old-fashioned preaching that told people that they are sinners.   We have replaced the word "sinner" with "pre-Christians"  in some circles.  Every attempt to water down the Gospel and to avoid confronting people with the reality of their sin and the reality of Hell is being made because offending people with the truth, means lower numbers on Sunday morning and that means less bragging rights.  Everyone wants to be the young, slick, sexy, good-looking church down the street with flashy presentations and worship services that mimic rock concerts instead of focusing on the truth of the Gospel.   And sermons on the reality of Hell, just don't get you to that goal.

So in the posts to follow, I am going to deal with the uncomfortable topic of Hell and the need to make sure it is part of our presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

I’ve noticed the same thing: many preachers these days shy away from the topic of hell. Jesus once said that the path to heaven is straight and narrow, and very few make it to the gates. In my estimation, only about 50% of all people end up saved. If half of all people are heading for hell, it is a good idea to bring it up so that people will hear the Word and get saved.

[Fidei Defensor]

“If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into” (Matthew 5:29)