Hell is real
We need to talk about hell. It is hard to talk about this truth separately though. However, if we highlight the beauty of the Saviour as a contrast against this dark background, this is truly evangelization. Yes, hell is a real threat looming over everyone. But there is Jesus who came to save us from hell. Therefore, the fear of hell should be a strong impetus for us to sincerely repent and be saved.
A certain devout priest full of apostolic zeal carried out a mission in France for 40 years. In an audience with the Holy Father Pius IX in Rome, he gave a frank account of his missionary work. On this occasion, the Pope gave him an extremely useful advice: “Teach the great truths of salvation. Speak especially about hell. Do not conceal anything – and especially not about hell. Nothing so helps to awaken poor sinners and bring them to God as the truth about hell.”
During our earthly life, God is infinitely merciful and good, but He is a righteous Judge after death. He is merciful now, but if we reject His mercy we condemn ourselves to an eternity without Him after death. There remains for us, then, only justice. If God chastises us in this life, it is because He loves us and wants to save us from hell.
In order to be eternally damned we need not do anything, anything at all; we are sinners condemned by the law of God. It is enough to be as we are. We need not even be murderers or thieves. People often say: “I didn’t kill anyone, I didn’t rob anyone; I have no sins.” But that is a lie. We sin by thought, by hatred we cherish in our hearts, by word, or by unbelief, and unbelief is the greatest sin. Our sin is that we do not believe in Christ (cf. Jn 16:9), however good we may be. Our righteousness will not save us. We need to receive the Saviour. The prerequisite for this is that we acknowledge our sin, admit the truth about ourselves, about our wretchedness, and human pride does not want that. God’s Word says: “Whoever does not obey the Son of God shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (Jn 3:36) God in His love gave us His only Son, so that we should not perish, but we need to receive Him. Otherwise, the wrath of God remains on us and we are doomed to judgment and damnation, perdition – because of our unbelief. And how very easy it is to escape hell… Christ finished all the work for us on the cross. Jesus says: “Whoever is thirsty, let him come to Me and take the free gift of the water of life.” (cf. Rev 22:17)
Let us therefore consider four basic steps:
1) we must have a desire – a thirst for forgiveness, for eternal life
2) we must come to Christ
3) we must want it, and this is a condition for salvation – an act of the will
4) and finally, we must take the free gift of God – the water of eternal life
If we have taken these four steps, we have truly received God’s life. Scripture says that those who want to go to hell will go to hell, and only those who want to go to heaven will go to heaven; in other words, everyone is responsible for their own eternal destruction. Let us therefore take God’s grace that He gives us – through faith. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16) So the most important thing is that we should not perish but have eternal life!
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