Some say if you look close enough you can find the good in any and everything. One singer tells of how he prayed for the hand of a certain lady in his youth. Seeing her as an adult, he was thankful and glad he didn’t get his request. Will Rogers said, “I never met a man that I didn’t like.”
If there is some good in everything, there must be some good in hell. People abhor some things in this life, and some of these despised things are absent in hell. This should ease their minds a little while they are waiting. It will not help them in hell, though, since there is no peace of mind “where the worm dies not.” (Mark 9:44).
NO MORE PREACHING — In hell there will be no more long, irritating sermons. Gospel preachers make hell-bound people nervous. They think the preacher is picking on them. Every time they come to the assembly; he seems to be preaching right at them. Their attitude is, “just keep your nose out of my business and I will call you when I need you” (usually for weddings and funerals). Preachers are to reprove, rebuke and exhort (2 Timothy 4:1-5). They must speak and urge Bible teaching and must do what they can to encourage living the Christian life in the lives of those to whom they preach. Many people do not want to be urged. But all that will end in hell. They may be and will be preachers in hell, but they will not preach there.
NO MORE CHURCH WORKERS — There will be no church workers in hell –you know, the ones who may have bothered you with cards, letters, calls and visits. They have plagued the world ever since the first century when they went everywhere bothering people (Acts 8:4). They go from house to house. “No Trespassing” signs do not stop them (Acts 20:20). You told them you would attend and become a Christian someday (Acts 24:25), and that should have been enough. But, NO! Well, you will not have to get out of your seat to open the door for them any more in hell. They will be gone for good! Ah, the benefits of hell!
NO INTERFERENCE WITH YOUR LIFESTYLE! In hell there will be no one to tell you how to live your life. No one will tell you about sin. How you hate that word! You wanted to be with the “in crowd.” In hell the “in crowd” will be everywhere and you will be in the middle of them. You will be with your kind of people. There will be no more calls to holiness by those “goody-two-shoes-do-gooders” who thought they were better than you. You were just as good as those hypocrites. You might notice that when you get to hell that all the hypocrites will be there, too.
NO MORE INVITATIONS – there will be no more invitations to obey the gospel and get your life right with God. Remember how you hated those invitations? Talk about pressure! It was hard, but you resisted every one of them. There were family appeals, especially from your wife. She never gave up, but you showed her. They even prayed about you at the church building, but you did not yield. Some invitation songs were hard to refuse, but you gripped the pew and did not budge an inch. There will be no invitations to salvation in hell. Won’t that be a relief?
Concluding thought — There is a catch in all this good news. You need to make sure that you want all of these benefits. When you cross over into eternity, there will be no opportunity to change your mind (Luke 16:26). If you have the slightest doubt that you want these benefits, you will need to make some changes right now.
Roger Jackson, Via Landmark church of Christ Bulletin
SOME THOUGHTS TO CONSIDER
No doubt some may wonder why so much preaching and teaching about the Second Coming and Judgment Day! Why, on the second day of the New Year, do we need to read or hear about hell?
First, I have not preached on this enough. I guess we get comfortable teaching and preaching on certain things. We feel UNCOMFORTABLE talking about eternal punishment and torment, especially when we consider some loved ones and friends may go there.
Many are the articles I have about eternal punishment, hell, and some of these try to argue that a loving God will never send someone to eternal punishment. Some think that once in “punishment” that those there maybe “burned up,” and that is all there is to it – it will not be eternal punishment! Others believe that God will finally, on that day, (because he loves man so), declare everyone “Not Guilty” and allow all into heaven.
But is this what Jesus taught? Is this what the apostles taught? We know better.
Beloved, we must always remember that judgment is coming, and God, in his wisdom, will judge all! Eternal punishment is awful to consider, especially for those whom we love and know. THE GOSPEL IS THE ONLY THING THAT CAN SAVE!
Please pray that I (and all of us here at South Cobb) may have the urgency in teaching the lost – and may we all remember that it is our responsibility to try to at least share the gospel with all men. HEAVEN OR HELL HANG IN THE BALANCE!
We must be evangelistic — we must get busy doing the Lord’s work.
THE GOOD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL IS THE ONLY HOPE FOR MANKIND. We have it presented in the Bible, and we have been commissioned to teach the whole world. How are we doing? “Will any lost one there, cry out in deep despair, you NEVER MENTIONED HIM TO ME.”
OLD AND NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION
“We often make New Year’s Resolutions every year to try to change our lives and make things better. But we also know that rarely do we keep them. We might start off strong, and work real hard the first week or two, but then life comes crashing back in that thwarts our goals and determination. The article below suggests that we not only make New Year’s resolutions, but also to look at the old year’s resolutions and recommit to them. That is a lot of work . . . ”
Look over some of the resolutions that you made last year. (I realize that many have given up on making any New Year’s resolutions — but should we?? Did Paul not have goals and resolutions such as Philippians 3:13-14 “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.“ TCT)
“In other words, could it be worth it to make some old year’s resolutions?
I may not have time to lose all that weight I had planned or save for that dream vacation or read a ton of books like I would in an entire year, but it is possible I could make a massive impact in my life–and in the lives of others–with a few short-term resolutions to finish out the year with?” We should take care of
“Is there someone I have not forgiven for a slight or a wrong? Why wait until the new year to do that?” (See Matthew 18:15-17). Why do we try to handle this in the world’s way and expect things to work out?
“Is there a child I have not spent as much time with as I had planned? Start today with a surprise outing or a board game.”
“Do I know my marriage is not as strong as it should be? Start today with a good conversation, a date, or scheduling time with a counselor.”
“Did I not read my Bible through like I had planned in 2021?” START TODAY IN BIBLE READING! AND DON’T QUIT!
“Has my attendance in Bible classes been sporadic?” What about worship? I know that COVID has created concern for many who are concerned about their health. Have we been so concerned about getting sick that we have become weak spiritually by failing to meet with and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ?
“Is there someone you have put off inviting to a Bible study? Why wait another moment to possibly make an eternal impact?”
There are countless other examples you could add to this list, but I hope these are enough to get you started. If we are going to make “the best use of the time” (Ephesians 5:16), then let’s not spend all our time planning our future. Let’s take care of some short-term goals today. You just never know what all you might accomplish that could impact your life, your marriage, your family, or even someone’s soul with some courage and effort…today.
Adapted from Adam Faughn http://faughnfamily.com/old-years-resolutions/
December
