It has found a seemingly permanent place in the vocabulary of America as a byword to express anger, amazement, or simply to fill in the blanks. Divesting itself of its biblical roots, it is freely used in conversation and entertainment. “Scholars” tell us that it is merely the product of the evolution of religion and is not to be taken seriously. Hell, like the Devil, is not to be feared by intelligent people.
Unless one rejects God, such a conclusion cannot be drawn. The clear things that rest in His Word insist on the reality of Hell. If, in fact, Hell is not real, God is found a liar and His Word unreliable at best.
Jesus believed in a literal hell and described it in graphic terms (Mark 9:42-48). If Hell is an imaginary place concocted for religious leaders to keep their ignorant followers in line, Jesus must be included in such a group of untrustworthy and calloused tyrants.
Time and time again in your life God has proven reliable. Jesus has been found completely honest in countless situations. The Bible’s teaching has been proved true on many occasions. What then is the course of the trend of questioning the existence of Hell? To ask the question is to answer it. There is but one who could so powerfully insist that only the ignorant believe in a literal Hell. Amazingly enough he lives there (1 Peter 5:8).
David Bragg
__________________________via BulletinGold
Braggs Church of Christ 