The Truth About Hell (Selected Scriptures)

• As we enter into this season of celebration for us as believers, we face an opportunity and a responsibility that I think is unique to the season and that is to be ready to speak the gospel to the folks that are around us who don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ. You heard from Travis the commission of Jesus to go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them and commanding them to do all things that I have commanded you.
• This is our commission, this is why we are here in this world, to be ministers of reconciliation with a message of reconciliation to God that sinners might be saved. We talk about that, being saved. One of the people being baptized tonight made reference to being saved. What are we talking about? What is it we want people saved from? That is the compelling question.
• The answer to that question, as far as Scripture is concerned, is a simple answer. We want to see people saved from eternal punishment, punishment that never ends. Conscious existence, conscious life in a body resurrected and suited for everlasting punishment. The Bible speaks of that as occurring in a place that we know as hell.
• In the Old Testament, the word Sheol makes reference to that in a general way. In the New Testament, the word Hades is sometimes with reference to that. But always the word hell coming from the Greek word Gehenna speaks of what the book of Revelation calls this Lake of Fire where people are punished and tormented forever.