WHO BELONGS IN HELL?

There are two sides to my question. One is the religious view of hell, which I believe it's totally unbiblical. It is judgmental, legalistic, tainted and twisted by human morality. The other side is the Biblical view, which is vastly different to what religion says.

Religion, first of all, makes a mess out of the law and the gospel of grace. What would send anyone to hell is not a ‘fruit’ of the sin nature, or the sins we commit as humans, but the sin nature itself that has not been surrendered to God. In other words, living a life of goodness or evil doing, independent from God keeps you at the level of SINNER not being covered by the grace and the forgiveness of God.

Think for a minute now, what are the actions and behaviors that show that someone is not following God? Someone would be very quick to say, immorality, adultery, drugs, stealing, hurting people. Very seldom someone would describe LACK OF LOVE as a clear evidence that someone is not following God.

You Fool

Did you know Jesus threatens hell to those who curse and mistreat another person by evil words, acts of betrayal and disloyalty? (Matt. 5:22). He’s not warning drinkers, drug users, prostitutes, smokers or murderers. Jesus preaches hell against those who have the audacity to attack a fellow human being with harsh words. Hate is included in this behavior. People who hate speak evil words constantly! Have you ever done it? Has someone ever cursed you? Have you ever been hurt deep with harsh words of condemnation? That's what Jesus is talking about.

It’s ironic—frightening, actually—that some people have written books, preached sermons, or written blog posts about hell and missed this point completely. In fact, some people have slammed their "Christian" brothers and sisters in the process, simply because they have a different view of hell, missing the purpose of Matthew 5:22, “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother SHALL BE guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ SHALL BE guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘YOU FOOL', SHALL BE guilty ENOUGH to go into the fiery hell.” Notice that there is no "may" in v 22. It says "SHALL BE."

Blessed Are the Poor

And what about the poor? Jesus is crystal clear about the necessity of reaching the poor. The poor have a special place in the heart of God.

Put simply, failing to accept God's power to transforms us so we can LOVE is what will send people to hell.

I know, I know, everyone wants to clarify this. We want to add all sorts of footnotes to fix Jesus’ shaky theology in Matthew 25—justification is by faith, not by works; you don’t really have to help literal poor people, etc.

"Yes, you are supposed to be loving, but..." then comes the divorce! "Yes, you are supposed to be loving, but... for how long?" Poor people should get a job! "Poor people are poor because they don't work as hard as I do!" Or others choose to be a little bit more benevolent and give money to a ministry, or have a homeless ministry at their church! I understand we can not all be out there feeding the poor or helping people in pain. But you see, Gail, the heart of the matter is deeper than just handing a help to the poor or the needy. It is the state of the heart that matters!

Read the words of Jesus here:

Matthew 25:31-46 says the following:

“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'

I love these words! I don't think there is a more fulfilling, more loving statement in the Bible for followers of God! This is the end of the story! This is the glorious end to a life of sacrifice for the cause of God! Can you hear the voice of Jesus saying to you, "Come... Come in, Let me embrace you! This is what I had in mind for you, from the times of eternity!

Finally, you are here. I am so happy to see you!" Wow! Do you want to talk about a reward? Nothing tops this one!

Why are they called blessed? ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ The ones Jesus called "blessed" are people of compassion. They are lovers of people who are hurting!

Notice the response from the "blessed" ones...

“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them,you did it to Me.’ Did you get it? They were not even aware of what they did. It was natural for them to love! They will actually be surprised by the words of Jesus! Amazing!

Jesus will then address the "goats" on his left:

“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘DEPART FROM ME, [You never belong with me in my kingdom] accursed ones, into the eternal fire [Hell] which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Jesus compared people who are totally caught in their own lives, with the devil and his angels. This is serious stuff,
Notice now, the response from the "goats,"

“Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ They were not even aware of the poor, the unfortunate of society, the people in pain, the broken hearted! This is shocking. The "goats" are in the church! They may be pastors and entire congregations!

Then, Jesus says,

“Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Jesus’ theology isn’t “shaky” at all here. Jesus words call all of us, in different ways. To be loving and caring in different ways. You may not have homeless people in your office, but I am sure you have people in pain around. You may not be directly feeding the poor, but your neighbor may be hungry for love and attention. You may be a professional, or a business person, and people around may not seem to need anything. But if you ask God for eyes to see you will find so many needs!

LOVE is the foundation of God's Kingdom! And love is not something you do, is something you ARE. Noticed? The goats never saw people who needed LOVE but were religious enough to be in the presence of Jesus! Jesus said, "You never got it! You are not one of my own!" Evidently they were interested in God! But they were not driven by LOVE. The sheep on the other side, did what LOVE called them to do. They saw opportunities that the goats never saw. The sheep saw pain and run to help out. The goats perhaps saw people that needed to be corrected instead of a need to love.

You know what is so insidious about this issue? LOVE by the sheep, is not just a potluck for the homeless here and there.
Or a clinic to help poor people. Or giving money. LOVE for the sheep, was a way of life. The sheep see the opportunity to love a spouse that is cold like an ice cube, or feel compassion for a son or a daughter that is giving them a headache.

LOVE permeates the attitude of a follower of God. There are people who are in a prison of their own making, and the sheep, see that, and pray for them and seek opportunities to befriend them. LOVE for the sheep is not just an act, it is a way of life. They give money as a way of life. They help because that is who they are!

Specifically, the human condition that will send people to hell is the absence of LOVE. True love is not something you do. It is who you are (1 Corinthians 13) Love is a feeling, true, but in the deepest sense true love is ONLY born in the heart of God.

Soon or later the human feeling we call "love" runs short and fails! You can be good without God, due to cultural values, background, self-discipline and good genes. That won't impress God. You may be a "feely" kind of "loving person" but you don't see the real needs around, because your world is all about good feelings and yourself. God is the only one who can transform you into a "sheep" and make you love His way!

True love sees the pain and the need in others. True love turns into natural actions. True love is above all things, compassionate and seeks to bless people.

God bless you today!

Wow. Excellent Gail.

I particularly found this amazing:

"The sheep see the opportunity to love a spouse that is cold like an ice cube,"

Woody, I'm thinking that Pastor Harold is speaking from experience on that one. He knows the pain of divorce.

But I'm thinking he's a sheep!