Eternal Damnation

According to those who deny the existence of hell, a loving God would never send anyone to such a terrible place.

And they're correct. He doesn't send them there. Rather, they send themselves there.

What is hell? It's a spiritual prison where the souls of sinners are confined until the Day of Judgment.

Certainly, hell isn't a popular subject anymore, even among professing Christians who have increasingly dismissed hell in recent years as an outdated myth.

That's reflected in the attitudes of many pastors today who avoid preaching on the subject because they admit that hell makes their constituents uncomfortable.

Even the legendary Rev. Billy Graham has his doubts about hell's literal existence. In his book, Storm Warning, Graham said this: "Jesus used this symbol (fire) over and over. I believe that it (hell) means a thirst for God that is never quenched."

Contrary to Graham's claim, Christ never used hell as an allegorical term to describe someone's unquenchable thirst for God. Rather, he described hell as a literal place of torment.

In the Beatitudes, Christ taught this: "If your right eye causes you to sin, 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 hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell." (Matthew 5:29-30)

If hell isn't a literal place, then Christ's admonition makes no sense. Why would he advocate self-mutilation as a solution to stay out of a place that didn't exist?

Furthermore, Christ taught more on the reality of hell than he did on heaven. In Luke's gospel, Christ gives the account of a narcissistic, wealthy man who rejected God during his lifetime on earth and ended up in hell. (Luke 16:19-31) 

And also in Luke's gospel, Christ gave us this warning: "I tell you my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him (God) who, after the killing of the body, has the power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him." (Luke 12:4-5)

Some folks question hell's existence because they claim that it's never mentioned in the Old Testament. But they're wrong. It's mentioned frequently throughout the Old Testament and it's referred to as the spiritual grave or Sheol in Hebrew where the spirits of the dead are gathered.

Who goes to hell? And why? Only those who reject Christianity? Rather all people who die in their sins are consigned to hell. That's why Christ came into this world 2,000 years ago in the form of a humble man. He came as the everlasting atonement that God's infinite justice demanded to pay the price for our sins on a Roman cross that we couldn't pay.

Christ didn't come to start a new religion. He came as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world that Israel's ancient prophets such as Isaiah foretold centuries before he appeared. (Isaiah 53)

No religious system can take away sin. No religious system can keep you out of hell, even for a moment. Only faith in Jesus Christ and His death on Calvary's cross for your sins (Romans 10:9-12) can keep you out of hell.

But you shouldn't confess Christ as Lord merely to stay out of hell. You should confess Him as Lord because of God's great love for you, in spite of your rebellion against Him. As the scripture says: "For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)