"Fear Him Who Can Destroy Both"

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28 ESV)

Surprisingly, many of those who call themselves Christians, get this wrong. If you asked this verse in the form of a question, “Who’s power to destroy the soul and body in hell should you fear? ” They would answer Satan. This, however, is completely wrong. Satan can lead you away from God, but it is God who has the keys to both heaven and hell. Hell is not an absence from God for God controls it and who is sentenced there.

Surprisingly enough, the one who tells us the most about hell is Jesus. Most preachers today will not preach about hell, and in most churches if you did preach about hell people would stand up and say “that’s not my God.” It is the failure of pastors today who only want to preach about the love and sacrifice of God, not his just wrath.

Psalm 5:5 says, “The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.” The Psalmist tells us the boastful, or sinful will not stand before God because He hates sinners who have not repented. Yet, in many cases the mindset of the modern church is just the opposite God is good and cannot hate. A deception of the enemy.

If you love, you must hate. There can not be one without the other. If you love our Jewish brothers and sisters, despite their rejection of the Messiah, you must hate the Holocaust. If you love our African and African American brothers and sister you must hate slavery and racism. God is holy, so separated above us that even a small lie is a great offense to God.

What should be one of the most frightening verses for believers is Matthew 7:21-23 in which Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’" There are millions to whom Christ will say this to because they believe they were “good people.” Works do not equate to salvation. We must be born again in the Spirit.

Often Christ told us in His preaching and parables that hell will be an destiny of many. In Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few;” Matthew 13:41-42, The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth; and Mark 9:45; “And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.”  All of these are Christs words warning us of Hell.

Hell is described as a place of blackness and a constant burning, where the worm never stops, and you are aware that you placed yourself here. One can stand isolation for a week, and pain for a month knowing there will be an end, but in these the punishment is eternal, and you will know it is because you chose to rebel against God. We know this because Christ told us this in the story of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus in Luke 16:22-31:

“The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’  And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house—  for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’  But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’  And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’  He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Hell is a frightening thought, real as told to us by Christ not a myth or story contrived to place people in fear. Yet God made a way for us all to escape hell. Through faith in Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection, we can be made whole. Christ’s imputed righteousness allowing us to rejoin our relationship with our Creator. And in our repentance, to walk through the narrow gate of Matthew 7.

Do you know Christ as your Savior? None of us know when we will be called to the Lord. Is your eternal destiny worth your sin and selfishness or the roll of the dice. Seek Christ today, He stands before you saying, “ do not go the way of evil, I conquered it for you," “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Grace and Peace.