Jesus Christ is without a doubt the most influential and compassionate person who ever walked the face of our planet. Even those people who deny His deity acknowledge that He was a great man and a wonderful moral teacher. Has it ever occurred to you that one of the most compassionate things that Jesus ever did was to speak about and warn people about the dangers of hell. While speaking about hell has never been popular one of the most loving things you can ever do is to tell people about the horrors of hell and how to avoid going there.
In fact, Jesus loved people so much that He spent an inordinate amount of time speaking on hell – and so should we! Just listen to the sobering words of J. C. Ryle on the subject of Jesus and hell: “Hell, hell fire, the damnation of hell, eternal damnation, the resurrection of the damnation, everlasting fire, the place of torment, destruction, outer darkness, the worm that never dies, the fire that is not quenched, the place of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, everlasting punishment… these are the words which the Lord Jesus Christ Himself employs. Away with the miserable nonsense which people talk in this day who tell us that the ministers of the gospel should never speak of hell.”1
Speaking about hell will never make you popular but sharing truth, while initially it may hurt, in the final analysis heals – and sometimes greatly. I love what Pastor Adrian Rogers shared on this point: “It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to speak the truth that hurts and then heals, than falsehood that comforts and then kills.”2
My friends if the most compassionate person in history felt it necessary to speak on and warn people about hell, it becomes imperative that we too issue a clarion warning to those who the Lord puts in our path to warn them about the real existence of hell and how to avoid going there. So, the next time your conversation with someone turns to spiritual matters speak boldly and with compassion about the reality of hell and how to avoid going there. To me sharing about hell is just about the most loving thing we can ever do. And if Jesus felt it was so important to talk about it, so should we!
1 Inspirational Quotes on Truth (bibleportal.com)
2 Adrian Rogers – It is better to be divided by truth than to be… (bibleportal.com)
Well said Curt. 🙂