Why don't they talk about HELL in church anymore?

Taken from a sermon "Hell No Exits" Leonard Ravenhill (1907-1994)

"When you last hear a sermon on TV about hell? About everlasting destruction? It's not fashionable, it doesn't bring the money in. Doesn't tickle the ears, tickles the conscience..." Leonard Ravenhill

Steve notes:
After listening to Leonard Ravenhill's sermon above, I decided to read Jonathan Edwards' infamous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" (1741). These choice words jumped off that page at me.



From Section IV:
So that is not because God is unmindful of their wickedness, and don't resent it, that he don't let loose his hand and cut them off. God is not altogether such as one as themselves, though they may imagine him to be so. The wrath of God burns against them, their damnation don't slumber, the pit is prepared, the fire is made ready, the furnace is now hot, ready to receive them, the flames do now rage and glow. The glittering sword is whet, and held over them, and the pit hath opened her moth under them.

From Section V:
The devil stand ready to fall upon them and seize them as his own, at what moment God shall permit him. They belong to him; he has their souls in his possession, and under his dominion. The Scripture represents them as his "goods," Luke 11:21. The devils watch them; they are ever by them, at their right hand; they stand waiting for them, like greedy hungry lions that see their prey, and expect to have it, but are for the present kept back; if God should withdraw his hand, by which they are restrained, they would in one moment fly upon their poor souls. The old serpent is gaping for them; hell opens its mouth wide to receive them; and if God should permit it, they would be hastily swallowed up and lost.

From Section IX.
They hear indeed that there are but few saved, and that the bigger part of men that have died heretofore are gone to hell; but each one imagines that he lays out matters better for his own escape than others have done; he don't intend to come to that place of torment; he says within himself, that he intends to take care that shall be effectual, and to order matters so for himself as not to fail.

Under Application section:
The use may be of awakening to unconverted person in this congregation. This that you have heard is the case of every one of you that are out of Christ. The world of misery, that lake of burning brimstone is extended abroad under you. There is the dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God, there is hell's wide gaping mouth open; and you have nothing to stand upon, nor anything to take hold of: there is nothing between you and hell but the air; 'tis only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up.

You probably are not sensible of this, you find you are kept out of hell, but don't see the hand of God in it, but look at other things, as the good state of your bodily constitution, your care of your own life, and the means you use for you own preservation. But indeed these things are nothing; if God should withdraw his hand, they would avail no more to keep you from falling, than the thin air to hold up a person that is suspended in it.

Some paragraphs down in Application section:
Thus are all you that never passed under a great change of heart, by the mighty power of the Spirit of God upon your souls, all that were never born again, and made new creatures, and raised from being dead in sin, to a state of new, and before altogether unexperienced light and life (however you may have reform your life in many things, and may have had religious affections, and may keep up a form of religion in your families and closets, and in the house of God, and may be strict in it), you are thus in the hands of an angry God, tis nothing but his mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction.

Last paragraph:
Therefore let everyone that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come. The wrath of almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over great part of this congregation: let everyone fly out of Sodom: "Haste and escape for your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed." Gen 19:17

Steve concludes:
Can you imagine Joel Osteen preaching this?

What has your church turned God into? Santa Claus, a best buddy, a magic genie with three wishes, Jesus is my homeboy, self-help God? Do you never hear of Jonathan Edward's God there? God is only love? Is God not righteous (just) and morally perfect? And we are not?

Most people would call this hell fire preaching. And I agree, but what I have a problem with is that if you truly believe what's in your Bible, what would be wrong with warning people of the wrath to come? We have been tricked by today's political correctness to believe that not offending people is more important than warning them of what happens in the next life. How logical is that? But most of us, me included, suffer from this. We know that we won't be very popular if we start talking about hell to unbelievers, luke-warm believers.

I'm not saying we should return to hell fire preaching, but we should not be afraid to talk to people about the reality of hell. We need to verbalize to people that hell exists and is a real place that some people will definitely spend eternity if they don't trust in Jesus Christ and repent of their sins. It can be done in love.

Revelation 20:15 (NIV)
"If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

Read Luke 16:19-26 - Lazarus and the Rich Man


A sermon from Robert Jeffress "The Truth about Hell" January 1, 2008

PLACEBO

Steve says:
I am fascinated with Near Death Experiences. I love to try to play detective and determine if they are faithful to the Bible or not. I try to determine if the person telling the story is a reliable witness or not.

One NDE that I find intriguing is from Howard Pittman who is featured on Spirit Lessons website. I do warn that you must be very careful when listening to these type of experiences almost as much as reading some of the garbage the modern Christian writers are churning out these days. But I am not focusing on his NDE story in this blog, just the forward to his booklet called "Placebo". In my opinion he describes the modern church perfectly. He uses the placebo pill used by doctors as an analogy of many churches in our land, it describes believers who are not saved yet are being coddled into thinking everything's fine, not being challenged in the Word and therefore think they are saved.

Go ahead and read below and see what you think.

Below taken from Spirit Lessons website:

On August 3, 1979, Howard Pittman, a Baptist minister for 35 years, died while on the operating table during surgery and had a near-death experience. After angels showed him the second and third heavens, he was taken before the very throne of God where he was given a message to share with the world.

The following is an excerpt from his booklet, Placebo, which documents his amazing near-death experience. You can purchase his audio tapes and booklets at the Lake Hamilton Bible Camp store.

Forward

Webster's Dictionary defines "placebo" as "a medication prescribed more for the mental relief of a patient than for the actual effect on his disorder, or something tending to soothe."

The doctors tell us that if we know we are being treated with a placebo, it does not work. In our minds we must think that it is a real medication and has the strength or power to heal. If the patient believes this, then the treatment has been known to work wonders in many cases that otherwise could not have been treated. Placebo treatment is, in fact, nothing of substance, but in the mind of the patient it is real. In order for this kind of treatment to work, the doctor must convince the patient of the work of the medication.

My friend, I declare unto you that this is the exact "treatment" that most "mouth-professing" Christians are using today. The doctor administering this "medication" is Satan himself. He gives the "patent" a sugar-coated religion, a shallow experience, and whispers half-truths into his ears. He then tells the "patient" that it is real and that it is all the "patent" needs. The "patent", having been taken in by Satan, believes this and goes on his merry way declaring to all that he has been born again, his salvation is real, and this experience is all that he needs. Doctor Satan will allow his "patient" to continue to go to church and will allow him to take part in any church, that is, singing, leading in prayer, teaching Sunday School, and even preaching. He will allow the "patient" to make any kind of statement in connection with his "mouth-professing" religion, even to the point of the saving power of Jesus. Yes, he will allow the "patient" to do all and say all with one exception. That exception is that the "patient" will not be allowed to live the life that he confesses with his mouth ...

What does it mean to be a Christian in China?

General info on China:
There are over 1.3 billion people in China. The Chinese government admits to around 13.3 million Protestant Christians in China but some sources say that number is more like 60 million or higher.

What does it mean to be a Christian in China?

- To have a church service means having to meet in secret in people's homes or even out in the country.

- Potentially spending time in jail for holding secret church meetings, sharing the gospel, for distributing Christian materials, if you're caught.
What can I do?

Write letters to Christian prisoners around the word that are in prison: Voice of the Martyrs - Prisoner Alert

- When believers have tried to build churches, the government knocks them down. The government requires permission they won't grant to protestant churches for a building to be built.

- To own a Bible can be very difficult. No Barnes and Noble with a hundreds to choose from in China.
What can I do?

Check out Bibles Unbound to donate money for bibles to be purchased for nations that are hostile to Christianity. When I checked the website in February, they had over 25,000 requests for bibles to China.
This movie shows how the program works. Bibles Unbound Movie

Please check out - Voice of the Martyrs main site for information on how to help the persecuted church not just in China but all over the world.

Books, articles and Videos on China:

"The Marvelous Promises" by Pak-Chue Chan, MD (book)

"The Cross - Jesus in China" (video)

"Heavenly Man" by Brother Yun (book)

- This article in the Christian Post explains how the Chinese government is cracking down on Christians (Feb 2008).

- Article "China Launches "Secret" Crackdown On House Churches, 'Open Doors' Says",
(Jan 2008)

- "Chinese Christians Forced to Worship in Secret", article from ABC News (Nov 2005).

In conclusion:
Yet with all this persecution, China is seeing signs of revival we can only envy here in the United States. Pray for our persecuted brothers in China daily!

Ephesians 6:18
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

SIGN - No seeker sensitivity here...

This sign is located at I-35 in Carrollton, Texas between Beltline and Crosby on the west side of the road. The ArmyNavyWarehouse paid for this sign.

I have to admit I really like this sign. The message is shown in a direct to the point way with almost an old time feel to it. I tried to get the railroad crossing in there to emphasize the need to make a decision- should you cross into faith or not. Most will reject this sign but I pray some will seek the Lord because of it.

I can hear the the new age modernist believers arguing that this might turn people off to the gospel. We are so afraid we'll give someone a bad experience we settle for not even trying to share the gospel.

Do you think Christ offended some people when he went into the temple and knocked over the money changers tables? (John 2:13-16) How about when he stood toe to toe with the Pharisees? Think about it- he made them so mad they wanted to kill him. Could you imagine your pastor having this kind of conviction? Do you have this kind of conviction? Pray for it, I do.

The devil loves for us to pretend in church. He loves when we are into the world more than Christ.

We need to preach the Word of God.

John 2:13-16
13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!"

Cussing / Swearing

Steve admits:

This post will not be an easy one for me but I feel lead to talk about my struggle with cursing. Recently, I read an interview on the Internet I did in 2006 with The Metal Pit and I saw to my horror several times I cursed in it. I have to no excuse and I have repented since but I have this example of my sin living on the net to remind me of my slipping into this sinful habit.

When we started the Rotting Corpse website and reunion shows in 2004, I got caught in the mindset of when I was 20. Thankfully, because I was a believer I didn't do everything I did back in the day. I falsely believed that- if I wasn't drinking, lusting after women, and being a generally nice guy, I wasn't hurting anything by a few cuss words. I believed I could pick my sins. Even after my daughter was born, I continued some cursing but through the urging of some friends who were bold, I finally realized I needed to watch my mouth.

What happened? Part of it is I like to cuss. When I get excited or angry, I like to express myself this way. The other part is I fell into the Seeker Sensitive trap of "If I act really cool, people will like me and might start believing in Christ (Jesus is better than beer)". After a few years back in the metal scene, I saw my friends still living the lives they lived before they re-met me in 2004 and realized how wrong I was to naively believe that the power to transform someone's life to Christ had anything to do with me being of the world. I also failed in that I was afraid to share the gospel with them verbally. I thought that them knowing I was a believer would be enough. I pray the Lord will bless me with more opportunities to share my faith boldly with my old friends from the metal scene and that he will forgive me for my timid ignorance.

Without true repentance, can we truly know the Lord?

Ephesians 4:29
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

Colossians 3:8
"But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips."

1 Timothy 4:12
"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."

Swearing:
Since 2002 I have been sensitive to people who say GD or JC in vain. It's like a kick in the stomach when I hear someone say it. I am praying for the boldness to tell people (in a nice way) to not say those things around me. I figure it's the least I can do for the man who gave his life for ours. And some times like me, people do not realize how much they are saying these things.

James 5:12
"Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned."