Hell Is Real

But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. – Matthew 5:22

Over the next couple of days, we are going to talk about hell. Now I know this is not the most popular topic, but it’s one that we can’t ignore as followers of Christ. Though everybody dies, not everybody goes to spend eternity in the same place. There is a real heaven and a real hell, and we need to know what each of these final destinations entails so that we might have a sense of urgency to share the message of Jesus with those who have not secured their eternity in heaven.

We’re going to look at one specific truth about hell today, then we will discuss two more tomorrow. So let’s dive in.

First, we must understand that the Word of God confirms the reality of hell. This may shock you, but the first person in the New Testament who ever talked about hell was Jesus. It may also shock you to know that Jesus talked more about hell than He did about heaven. In fact, He talked more about hell than any other subject except money and the kingdom of God. He taught more about hell than any other person in the Bible.

For every one hundred words Jesus spoke, thirteen of them dealt with the subject of hell and judgment. Of the forty parables that Jesus told, more than half of them deal with the concept of hell and the judgment of God.

Therefore, if Jesus spent this much time talking about hell and devoted this much of His teaching to it, don’t you think it’s something we should take seriously as well?

God’s Word confirms the reality of hell. Jesus’ emphasis on the subject shows us how important it is to Him that we acknowledge the existence of hell. Therefore, we need to take these truths as a challenge to have a sense of urgency when it comes to sharing the gospel with nonbelievers so that the closest they come to hell is what they hear and experience on earth.

Dear Lord, you made it clear in your word that hell is a real place, but you don’t want any human to go there. Please give me a sense of urgency, Lord, to share the message of your hope and grace with others so that they don’t go to hell, but instead start a relationship with you here on earth and eventually spend eternity with you in heaven. In Jesus’ name, amen.