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What if hell were to close down?
By
innocent mwangi
Recently as I
left the house to report to my secular job, I inadvertently
overheard two young men talking animatedly to each other. Naturally
I don’t eavesdrop into other people’s conversation but one of the
two men blurted out a statement – or rather, a question – that
jolted me from my stupor. Without warning, the young man posed:
‘What if hell was closed down today – permanently?’
The answer from
his colleague came just as calmly as the question had been put.’
‘Most Christians would backslide’, was the banal reply from his
colleague. With that I passed them and went off to work.
Awakened from my
stupor, I gazed wide open into the empty space ahead of me,
oblivious of anything and anyone else. All I could hear in my mind
was the same question being repeated over and over again in my mind.
As I finally collected my faculties, my mind went into overdrive,
frantically attempting to look for suitable answers to the young
man’s question – I could not bring myself to accept the answer his
colleague had so calmly proffered.
Whether these
young men were born-again Christians or not, I don’t know. However,
within that short interlude, they had managed to unsettle my day to
an extent that I felt I must attempt to answer that question from a
personal perspective. It is the kind of question that we as
Christians don’t even want to entertain in our minds for on its face
value it may look like an attempt to question God’s order of things.
The question was however asked and I decided I would confront it
head on.
Let me from the
onset say that both heaven and hell are real. Those who refuse to
believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all mankind and that
through Him they will have eternal life will go to hell, period!
Those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will
go to heaven, period!
Now that we have
established the facts, let’s indulge a little bit in speculation.
Allow me to put the same question to you. What will you do if you
learnt from credible sources that hell has been closed down –
permanently? What would you do if you learnt today that there is no
hell? What would you do if you found out that whatever you do while
in this world, you would not go to hell? If you can satisfactorily
and honestly provide an answer to these questions, then you will
know beyond doubt where you stand with God.
In an earlier
sermon, I talked about
falling in love with God. In that message I had talked of being
so totally in love with God that one can say without any doubt that
he can die for God. Looking back to that message, I now realize that
to be completely and totally in love with God, one must first and
foremost die. That is, you must give up your carnality in exchange
for eternal life.
To answer the
question asked previously we must first answer the question: what
makes us Christians? Is it because of our fear of hell? Do we
believe in God out of the fear of the repercussions of not doing so?
It is OK to believe in God so as not to go to hell. However, it is
even far much better to believe in God not only because of our fear
of hell, but rather because we are so totally in love with Him that
we cannot see ourselves believing in anyone or anything else. Our
believing in God must go far beyond the realms of the fear of
retribution and embrace the infinite, unfailing and eternally
enduring love of God.
The Bible says
that when we hope in the Lord we will receive mercy and unending
redemption (Psalm 130: 7). When we put our hope unequivocally upon
God, we are guaranteed of redemption and the forgiveness of our
iniquities. Only God can make such a promise. To whom else apart
from God must we believe in? Only in God are our hopes and
aspirations realized. Outside of Him, we can only be sure of death
and destruction.
Falling in love
with God is not an option – it is a commandment. Jesus says in
Matthew 23 verse 37 that we should love God with all our heart, with
all our soul and with our entire mind. When we love God like this,
we will believe in Him and accept Him as our Lord and savior, our
all in all. We should not wait for the fear of hell to force us into
accepting Him but we should be moved by our undying love for God and
our hatred towards sin.
I have made up
mind that I will follow Jesus all the days of my life – even if hell
were to close down! My trust in God is not motivated by the fear of
hell. I trust Him because I love Him. Even if I were given many
other options, I would still choose to believe in Him. In any case,
nothing and no one compares to Him. He is the Alpha and Omega – the
beginning and the end. In Him there is plenteous redemption through
mercy. He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, Everlasting
Father, Mighty King! Before anything was formed, He was there!
Before you were even formed in your mother’s womb, He knew you.
There is no one before or after Him. Eternity is made complete in
Him. The way I see it, no one and nothing comes even close in
comparison to Him. Like Paul (Romans 8: 35-9), we should not allow
anything or anyone to separate us from the love of God, be it
tribulation or distress, persecution, famine, nakedness or peril,
death and principalities. We should stand firm in the full assurance
that nothing and no one can separate us from the love of God, which
is in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior!
If you are a born
again Christian, I urge you to keep pressing on. Fight a good fight
of faith and you will surely overcome the enemy. Remember that the
battle belongs to the Lord. He will fight for you if you put your
faith in Him. Your part in the battle is just to believe and have
faith that God will deliver you. When you walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, even there He is with you. Hang in there in
faith and He will see you through. Rededicate your life to Him today
and purpose to love him with all your heart, soul and might.
If you are not
sure that you would go to heaven if you were to die today, this is
how you can be sure. All you need is to accept Jesus Christ today as
your Lord and Savior and let Him come and fill your life. Heaven and
hell are both a reality. Each of us will end up in one of the
places. Chose heaven today for it’s only there that you will have
eternal life with Jesus Christ. I don’t want to graphically describe
hell for you but suffice it to say that hell is a terrible place –
that’s where satan lives anyway! But don’t accept Jesus Christ just
because hell is a bad place. Accept Him because you understand that
He loves you so much that He was willing to die for you so that you
may spend eternity with Him.
If you would like
to join the family of God today, send me an email at
ssm@swordofthespiritministries.net and I will lead you in a
prayer for salvation. Better still, ask Jesus Christ right now to
come into your heart and take possession of your life. Tell Him you
have accepted His salvation and that you believe He is the Son of
God. Ask Him to inscribe your name in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Go a
step further and let me know by way of email that you have given
your life to Jesus Christ. I will do my best to help you and guide
you as you grow in faith!
God bless you!
April 18, 2003
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