Hell Know

So what is it? Hell yes? Or hell no? Or hell know?  “Hell know” seems to be what the Spirit is saying to us at this time… it would seem He wants to share with us more light and more truth for our journey. A journey that can be eternal. He has after all “set eternity in our hearts.”

Our culture loves movies. So share “Hell and Mr. Fudge” with your family and friends. Encourage them also to read the book “Heaven Is For Real.” Make it your practice to meditate on eternity as Paul tells us to do in 2 Corinthians 4:18.

But let us, with Jesus and Paul “keep the main thing the main thing.” Let’s FOCUS. It’s so very important in our distracted times! Paul in I Corinthians 2:2 says, “I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Jesus in John 12:32 says, “If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto me.” Again Paul in Philippians 3:10 says, “...that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering ....”

So, we see that hell isn’t the main thing. Jesus Christ is the main thing, and the path to eternal life. So as we look at hell, eternity, ethics, history, church,… any number of things in the Bible for guidance on how we should live our lives, let’s remember to focus on Jesus’s life and words. It’s okay to look at these other things for sure, and indeed we should. But let’s remind ourselves, and each other frequently, that it’s about Jesus Christ who is “the Author and Finisher of our faith.” It’s “In him we live and and move and have our being.” And it pleased the Father to give Him the keys to the kingdom.

Know him. Serve him. Love him. Obey him. Over time you will come to know Him as His personality by the Spirit is being formed in you. I can’t say it clearly enough or strongly  enough? Keep Christ central in your heart, in your thinking, in your life.

Back to the topic of hell.  Are you defending what the Bible says, or the traditions of men? Or defending the teaching of the church? Do you in fact need to defend either? Or simply be a martyr (witness) to what you’ve seen and do believe? Perhaps to just bloom were God has planted you?

The answer to that question is profound and will change the way you think, act, and live.

It’s an ancient question really,”What does the Lord require of you O man?” 

Recorded in Micah 6:8, the Father’s answer is “to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”

The Son’s answer was akin to that, yet a fuller revelation, as he gave us “the great commandment” and “the great commission.”

Augustine who was the most important theologian during the first 1000 years of church history wrote his views about hell and eternal punishment in Book 21 of his monumental  work, ”The City of God.”  Yet Augustine himself once urged: “Do not follow my writings as Holy Scripture. When you find in Holy Scripture anything you did not believe before, believe it without doubt; in my writings, you should hold nothing for certain.” So always, and foremost, go back to the Bible, and go with the Bible.

Does the Bible teach that man has an immortal soul? Or does the Bible teach that man has a mortal soul? I recommend you try reading the Bible with both sets of glasses. See which set of glasses seems clearer or cogent with the whole counsel of Scripture on the punishment of the wicked, eternity, and the after life. May the Lord lead you into all truth, as He’s promised to do for those who seek Him. And please remember to keep Jesus your main focus in these days and and all your days. May you know him and be known by him. Amen.

“More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:8–12)

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                   Look forward to seeing you at Life Group this Wednesday, Sep 30, 6:30 pm at 1108 Adelaide, Fort Smith... Bring your questions, thoughts, yourselves, and a friend if you like! :) 

                   Our topic for discussion will be "What does the Bible teach about hell?" Focusing on the movie we saw last week, "Hell & Mr. Fudge." Should be interesting!

[Photos taken yesterday on the journey back from Dad's home in Harrison. Life is a journey. Let's slow down to enjoy it, with the top down, and to make sure we consider what is truly important. The words and life of Jesus... the narrow way that leads to eternal life, with Him. :)]