The Gates of Hell

How can a loving God send anyone to Hell? Is there a Hell? Why cant there be just heaven?
This sermon explores the concept of Hell and answers many of these questions.

https://www.anushjohn.com/post/the-gates-of-hell

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Transcript

  good morning.  In 33 years of preaching, I've had the privilege to speak on many topics. I've been in awe and wonder when I talk about God, I've been disgusted when I talk about sin. I've been hopeful when I talk about humans. I've been  cautiously defiant when I talk about Satan, I've been excited when I talk about heaven and I'm filled with dread and sadness  about the topic for today. It is a heavy topic and one  that most people don't speak about simply because it raises more questions than it answers. Purported firsthand accounts have been reported talking about the terrifying nature of this topic. This topic has been called cruel, barbarous and inhumane. I refer, of course, to the topic of hell. 

There are many questions that people have about this topic.   I hope to answer some of the questions that come out of this topic.  Let me share some of the objections people have in talking about a topic like, hell. 

Why can't God simply annihilate the evil doers instead of giving them eternal punishment?

Why can't hell be a short term punishment instead of an eternal one? 

Why doesn't God try to reform sinners rather than punishing them forever? Isn't eternal damnation overkill for temporary sins? How can anyone be happy in heaven knowing that their loved one is in hell? Why did God create people if he knew that some of them would reject him? If people are born as sinners, how can they be blamed for it? And then the question that gets everybody is how can a loving God send people to hell. It was Bertrand Russell, the atheist, who said that anyone who threatens people with eternal punishment is inhumane.

 In 1971, john Lennon sang his song imagine. And he said, imagine there's no heaven. It's easy if you try. No hell below us. Above us only sky. Imagine all the people living for today. 

Yes. We can try to imagine that there is no heaven and there is no hell and that we are living for today,  but is there a possibility that there is the existence of hell.

This morning  I want to explore this topic in a sermon entitled. The Gates of hell. I hope to answer some of these questions that I had raised earlier. I've divided this sermon into four parts. In the first part, we will look at the existence of hell. I want to give some arguments to show that hell has to exist. Second, we will look at some descriptions of hell as written in the Bible.

Third, we will look at the inhabitants of hell. And fourth, we will look at the punishments that are seen in hell 

first. Let's look at the existence of hell. Is it possible that hell exists. I want to give you five reasons why it is possible. Both from scripture and from logic, why it is possible that there is a hell.

First, let me give you some evidence from scripture. There are several words that are used in scripture for the word hell. So in the old Testament, you have the word Sheol, which generally refers to the dwelling place of a person after death. There is some variation as to who goes to sheol, but it's usually a place seen as opposite to heaven.

And then you come to the new Testament and there is the word called Hades and Hades is used as a synonym for death and the grave. But the key word for hell is the Greek word Gahanna. And this is a word that is derived from the Hebrew and it means the Valley of the sons of Hinnom. Valley of the sons of Hinnom.

So it is a Valley along the Southern slope of the city of Jerusalem. And it has a very interesting history. There were at least three ways that the meaning of this Valley changed over time. It started off with pagan sacrifices. In the old Testament, there were sacrifices that were made to pagan gods. And so there were at least two Kings by the name of King  he has an King Manasseh that offered the children as sacrifices in the Hinnom Valley. To the gods of Baal and Malek. So you see it as a very sorted beginning. And then as time went too long, the city's garbage was burned in this Hinnom Valley. And so it was used as a site for garbage and as time went along, it came to be known as a place of punishment for sinners.

So when Jews discussed the afterlife and punishment and rewarding, they employed the image of this smoldering garbage dump. To indicate hell. So throughout the old Testament, Hinnom became closely associated with corpses and death and punishment, and therefore it was a very fitting image for eternal punishment in the afterlife when God would judge the wicked, you come to the new Testament and very interestingly Jesus.

Who came from heaven to earth, had more to say about hell, then he did about heaven. And that is very interesting. One of the key passages of scripture, which we will look at today is the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Many people think. Could be a parable, but it is unlikely a parable because  there is the mention of a personal name in the story, the name of Lazarus.

So it is unlikely to be a  parable. So there is plenty of evidence from scripture for the existence of hell. 

A second argument for the existence of hell is that God's justice demands a hell. God's justice demands a hell. Let me read four verses for us about the justice and the purity of God. God is just so Romans chapter two, verse six reads.

God will repay each person according to what  they have done  Verse 11.   for God does not show favoritism. God does what is right. So in Genesis chapter 18, verse 25, it reads far be it from you to do such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike far. Be it from you will not the judge of all the earth do right.

God is so pure and untainted that he cannot even look at sin. So Habakkuk chapter one, verse 13 reads your eyes are too pure to look on evil. You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So we read some verses to show that God cannot mingle with sin, with evil, with wickedness. In the last century, Hitler was responsible for the deaths of 12 million people.

Stalin was responsible for the deaths of six to 9 million people, but chairman Mao was responsible for the death of 45 million people. Now we want them to pay for their action. We want justice, but many times they don't get justice. We don't see justice happening to those who do evil. In fact, this is not a new problem.

This is an old problem. So in Psalms chapter 73, verse three, it reads for, I envy the arrogant. When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. So wicked people continue to prosper and they don't face justice. We want a person like Mao or Hitler or Stalin to face justice and suffer and pay for what they did, but they died quickly and justice was not done.

Let me ask a question. Is justice fully carried out in this life? The answer is no justice is not fully carried out in this life. In 2019, there was Jeffrey Epstein who ruined many lives and before he could face justice,  he took his own life and therefore escaped justice. If God is perfectly just then injustice cannot prevail.

Injustice cannot prevail in eternity. Therefore there needs to be a place after death for God's justice to be complete. Also, if true justice means an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and a life for a life, imagine a person. Who took the life of another person, the justice that needs to be meted out for one person who took the life of another person is by taking the life of the criminal.

Then justice would be meted out equally. What if a person took the life of two people, how will justice prevail? You see,  there needs to be two lines for this person to take,  to provide justice for the two lives he took. So for a person like Mao, who was responsible for the death of 45 million people, even if he gave up his life, He would have paid only for one of those 45 million people.

There would be so many more people that he could never fully pay justice for. And therefore, since justice cannot happen fully in this life, there needs to be a place after this life where the justice of God can fully happen. God's justice demands that there be a handle so that incomplete justice can be completed.

Let me ask another question. How many unpunished sins are required for there to be a hell? how many unpunished sins are required for there to be a hell? Just one. If there is one unpunished sin that did not get its full justice, if God is a just God, he cannot let even one unpunished sin, one episode of injustice remain for eternity.

And even if there is one sin, there needs to be a place after this life where that justice can be completed. 

The third reason why there has to be a hell is God's sovereignty demands a hell. Good and evil cannot coexist forever. If they coexist forever good never overcomes evil. But there is always a separation that is created between good and evil.

And we see this in human society. So if there are criminals who are doing evil, we separate them from good society, good civil society, and put them in jails and prisons. So there is a temporary separation of good and evil so that good can continue to live. In the case of God, if there is good and evil coexisting together for eternity, good never overcomes evil.

And because God is only good, it cannot coexist with evil. So good has to completely be separated from evil at some point. There needs to be a permanent separation of good and evil, and it is in hell that there is evil that is separated and good is separated into heaven. In first Corinthians chapter 15, verse 24 and 25.

It reads. Then the end will come when he hands over the kingdom to God, the father, after he has destroyed all dominion authority and power for, he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For good to permanently overcome evil, there needs to be a permanent separation between good and evil.

The fourth evidence for the existence of hell is that God's redemptive plan indicates the existence of hell indicates the presence of hell. After Adam and Eve sinned after humans sinned in the garden of Eden, the rest of the story is how God redeemed humans after they have fallen. And so part of the story is when Jesus comes 2000 years ago, he lives a human life and die as a cruel death and resurrects on the third day. 

His death was a cruel death and the Bible is clear that the purpose of the coming of Jesus was to die. So in Mark chapter 10, verse 45,  it reads "for even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many". The Bible is clear that without the cross of Christ,  without the suffering of Christ, they would not be salvation for anyone.

So in Romans chapter four, verse 25, it reads, he was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. In procuring the salvation for us,  jesus suffered a great deal on the cross. Yes. So in Hebrews chapter 13, verse 12, it reads. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people Holy through his own blood.

If there is no hell, then there was no need for Jesus to come and face the worst punishment that existed at that time. Yeah, maybe this is why Jesus spoke more about hell then he did about heaven because there was a place that Jesus was trying to prevent people from going to. The cross of Christ is a clear indication of the presence of hell.

The fifth reason why hell must exist is because love demands a hell. Love demands of hell. And this will seem counter intuitive, because we asked the question frequently,  how can a loving God send people to hell? And I'm going to make the argument that love demands a hell. Love itself demands a hell. 

The Bible says that God is love. first John four 16 says, God is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God and God in them. God is love and he loves the world. John three 16 says for God, so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

But true love operates in freedom. Love cannot be forced. Love cannot be forced. In the movie, Bruce almighty, bruce is a reporter and was living a normal hung drum life. When he suddenly was given the power of God and he was God for a season, so he could do anything he wanted, like God could do. So, he would move traffic out of the way. He would get the best story as a reporter, but there was one thing that Jim Carey, Bruce almighty could not do. And that was forced the will of somebody. And in this movie, it was his interest played by Jennifer Aniston. He could not force the will of somebody. A God of love cannot force anyone to love him.

That goes against the very nature of love. God does not force people against their will. Love has got to be out of a free will. And so in Matthew chapter 23, verse 37, it reads, Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. You who kill the prophets and stone. Those sent to you how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.

God wanted to gather Jerusalem together, but they were not willing. Even God won't force anybody to love him. C S Lewis in his book, Screwtape letters wrote this about God, the irresistible and the indisputable are the two weapons, which the very nature of his scheme for bids him to use. Merely to override human will would be for him useless. He cannot ravish. He can only, woo. God does not force us to love him. He can only serenade us. He can only woo us and God gives us the will, the free will, the choice, the ability to make the choice, to decide to love him or not. Those who choose not to love him are given the freedom to not love God.

Those who choose not to be with God are given the freedom to be separated from him. Hell gives the freedom for people who don't want to be with God to be separated from him.

C S Lewis continuing in that book, the Screwtape letters writes this. There are only two kinds of people in the end. Those who say to God, die will be done. And those to whom God says at the end die will be done. If there is anyone who does not want to have a fellowship with God, God will let them go and be separate from him.

Secondly, I want to look at some pictures of hell. Just like human minds are not capable of grasping the glories of heaven and the pictures of heaven, human minds are not capable of grasping the terrors of hell. So when the Bible describes heaven, it describes it in figurative language. When the Bible describes hell it describes it in figurative language.

So the descriptions of health cannot be taken literally, but the implied terror should be taken literally. I'm going to look at five phrases, five pictures that are used to describe hell in the Bible. And I'll go through them very quickly. One is a bottomless pit, the abyss. In revelation, chapter 20 verse one.

And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. The abyss is a bottomless pit. We have difficulty imagining anything that is endless because we are very finite in our thinking and our being. Imagine that you fell into a pit that was five feet deep.

 Imagine we fell into a pit that was a hundred feet deep. Imagine we fell into a pit that was a thousand feet deep. Now imagine that we fell into a pit where there was no bottom, he kept falling and falling and falling and falling.

The second picture of hell is  as a prison.  revelation, chapter 20 verse seven reads when the thousand years are over satan will be released from his prison. Hell is like a prison and being in hell is like paying off a debt in prison. So in Matthew chapter five, verse 25 to 26, it reads, settle matters quickly with your adversary who's taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge. And the judge may hand you over to the officer and you may be thrown in prison. Truly. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. Being in hell is like paying off a debt in prison.

There is salvation that is by grace, that God gives freely through Jesus Christ. And then there is salvation by works, where you earn salvation. The problem is we can never earn salvation because it is too much for us to learn. And hell is essentially a place where a person who believes that they can earn salvation  will spend an eternity paying off a debt that they can never pay off.

Third hell is a place of darkness. Matthew chapter eight, verse 12 reads, but the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Second Peter, chapter two, verse 17 reads these people are Springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. Hell is like being outside in the dark forever. blackest darkness is darkness so thick that you can feel it. Fourth, Hell is described as a place of an eternal fire, Matthew chapter 24, verse 41 reads. Then he will say to those on his left, depart from me, you who are cursed into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Hell is seen most commonly as a perpetually burning fire.

That was the image of the Hinnom Valley of a perpetually burning garbage dump,  where the fire never burned out, because there was always garbage from the city that was pushed into the dump  and the fire never burned out. This fire is real though not necessarily physical.

And fifthly the key phrase that describes hell is that hell is being away from the presence of God. Destruction and exclusion come when a person is away from the presence of God. in second Thessalonians, one seven through nine, it reads "this will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels, he will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might". Being away from God is the true curse of hell. Everything else are just repercussions of being away from the presence of God. The pictures of hell are likely figurative, but the agony that is implied through those pictures are not figurative. They are literal.

Third. Let's look at the inhabitants of hell. Who inhabits hell? Who are the beings that would be in hell? Let me read some verses second Peter chapter two, verse four and nine: four if God did not spare angels, when they sin, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; then the Lord knows how to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. Who are the groups  that will be in hell? Rebellious angels and rebellious people.

After humans sinned in the garden of Eden and they fell away and they became sinners in the eyes of God; any sin after that can take us to hell.  So in Matthew chapter five, And in 23, you read how the simplest sins can take you to hell.

So if you call someone a fool, or if you given two sinful tendencies in Matthew chapter five, or you commit the sins of the ancestors in Matthew chapter 23, any sin can take us to hell. Why is this? Why is it that even one small sin is worthy of infinite punishment. And this is one of the objections we have.

How can a temporary sin result in eternal infinite punishment?

This is because every sin is against an infinite God. Therefore it is worthy of infinite punishment. Let me give an example. John Phillips in his book, exploring Romans gave us this illustration. He said, imagine there is a Marine,  who hits another Marine. Because he hits another Marine, he may get three days detention. Imagine if he hits a Sergeant, he strikes the Sergeant. He may get three weeks detention. Imagine if he strikes a general, he may get three years in prison for three years detention. Imagine if he strikes or attempts to strike the visiting president of the United States, he may be thrown in jail for life if not executed immediately. You see, the crime is the same. It is one man striking another man, but the severity of the punishment is determined by the person against whom the crime is committed. If God is infinite  any crime, even the smallest crime committed against an infinite God results in infinite punishment and requires infinite punishment.

We can choose to earn our salvation, or we can choose to get the free gift of salvation that God gave. If we choose to honor salvation, we will find out very quickly that we can never earn our salvation because even one sin, because it is committed against an infinite God, requires infinite work to overcome.

Refusing to believe in Jesus Christ will lead to eternal condemnation. So in first Thessalonians chapter one, verse eight, it reads, he will punish those who do not know God and who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. Anyone who does not follow Jesus, anyone who does not obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus will be sent to eternal condemnation.

Fourth, let's look at the punishment. Hell is a place where rebellious people and rebellious angels choose to go. Nobody shows up in hell by accident. We would love to have a hell that is temporary, but that is not what the Bible says. And that is not what logic dictates as we discussed earlier. I want to give three words to describe the punishment in hell. Three words to describe the punishment in hell. 

Eternal conscious suffering. Eternal conscious suffering. 

It is eternal. Heaven is described as eternal and in the same sentence, the same Greek word is used to describe hell also as eternal.  So in Matthew chapter 25, verse 41 and 46, it reads, then he will say to those on his left, depart from me, you who are cursed into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels, then they will go away to eternal punishment and the righteous to eternal life.

You see both the words are there - eternal punishment and eternal life. If heaven is forever, hell cannot be temporary. Hell is also forever

revelation chapter 20 verse 10: "and the devil who deceived them was thrown into the Lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night, forever, and ever. Heaven and hell or forever. 

Eternal, conscious suffering. People are conscious after they die. In heaven your conscious after you die. So in Philippians chapter one, verse 21 to 23, it reads for, to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet, what shall I choose? I do not know. I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.

Paul talks about being conscious in heaven. Are you conscious in hell? Yes. You are conscious in hell. Luke chapter 16, verse 23 reads in Hades where he was in torment. He looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.

Eternal conscious suffering. I want to tell you five quick things about suffering.

Hell is a place of torment. We looked at some pictures of hell. The language may be figurative, but the reality is horrendous. It is a place of darkness. It is a bottomless pit. It's a prison. It's a place of an eternal fire. And it was a place away from God.

Luke 16, 22 to 24 reads. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades where he was in torment,  he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. So he called him father Abraham have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in agony in this fire.

Being in hell it's like having death without dying. In revelation, chapter two, verse 11, it reads the one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death. And that is describing hell. The word debt is used to describe existence in hell.

Being in hell is like death without dying. You would love to die, but you cannot die.

Secondly, judgment begins immediately after death. Hebrews chapter nine, verse 27 reads. "People are destined to die once. And after that to face judgment, there is no intermediary state. There is no third place. After we live on earth, we die. We face judgment. 

Third. Hell is a place of regret. Eternal regret. Luke chapter 16, 27, 28 reads. He answered. Then I beg you. Father send Lazarus to my family. - The rich man is in hell at this point - for I have five brothers, let him warn them so that they will also not come to this place of torment. The rich man in hell experiences regret.

In Christopher Nolan's 2010 movie inception. Cyto played by Ken Watanabi asks carb played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Do you want to take a leap of faith or become an old man filled with regret waiting to die alone. Do you want to take a leap of faith or become an old man filled with regret? Waiting to  die alone.

The fourth thing about the suffering in hell is that there could be levels of hell. Jesus speaks of degrees of punishment. And so he says in Matthew chapter five, verse 22, but I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Anyone who says to his brother or sister Raca  is answerable to the core and anyone who says you four will be in danger of the fire of hell.

You see, he gives three different levels of punishment. Just like there are grades of rewards in heaven,  there could be grades of punishment in hell. So in Mark chapter 12, verse 40, Jesus talks about people who are teachers of the law and who are hypocrites. And he says this, they devour widows houses.

And for a show  make lengthy prayers, these men will be punished most severely. So there is a grading of punishment, which seems to indicate that there could be levels of punishment in hell. If God is a just God, he is not going to give everybody equal punishment. Even though the smallest sin deserves infinite punishment.

He will give most likely different  levels of punishment for different groups of people. 

Dante's Inferno is the first part of Dante allegories, 14th century Epic poem called divine comedy. It tells of the journey of Dante through hell guided by the ancient Roman poet Virgil, as he goes through hell and sees the nine concentric circles of hell, which he describes as located within the earth.

There could be levels of punishment in hell and fifthly. And finally, there is no escape. There is no crossing over. It is not a temporary punishment. Once a person is there, that person is there. There is no escape. There is a permanent separation between good and evil between heaven and hell and there cannot be any union between the two.

Luke chapter 16, verse 26 reads between us and you. A great chasm has been set in place so that those who want to go from here to you cannot nor can anyone cross over from there to us. There is no crossing over once a permanent separation has been made between good and evil. 

 And the 1977 song hotel California rock band, Eagles sings these words. Last thing I remember, I was running for the door. I had to find the passage back to the place I was before relaxed. So the night man, we are programmed to receive. You can check out anytime you want, but you can never leave.

there is no crossing over. Okay. In the play. No exit. It is John Paul Sartre tells a story of three people that were in hell for punishment. And as the story unfolds, you learn many revelations about the three of them. But one very interesting thing that you learn is that they could have opened the doors and gone out at any point, they could have left hell at any point, but they don't and they end up choosing to stay there.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Gates of hell are closed from the inside.

anyone who chooses to go to hell is there because they chose to go there.

hell is consistent with the use of freewill and anyone who chooses to reject the salvation that Jesus offers is there by choosing. To be a way they are choosing for a permanent separation between themselves and God. 

Let me end with a fable. There was a professor of religion by the name of Christensen, dr.  Christensen.  He was teaching religion in a small university in the Western United States. And he was doing this required course in Christianity in this small university. And every student was required to take this course. So, whether they were in any other major, it didn't matter. They had to take the scores.

And since this course didn't matter in their final analysis, they didn't pay much attention to it. So all the students took it simply as mere drudgery and they could care less having taken the scores. And most people did not take the Christianity that dr. Christensen was  teaching about seriously.

But this year there was a special student by the name of Steve. He was a freshman and he was intent on going to Bible seminary and being in the ministry. And he was also on the score football team. So he was a well-built young man and he was the best student in the professor's class. 

One day, dr. Christensen came to him and said, Steve, I've got a question for you. Can you meet me after class? And so he met him after class and said, see, I've got this project, but I want you to do something for me. How many pushups are you able to do? So Steve said, well,  I can do about 200 pushups.

If I push myself, he said, well, any chance you can do 300 pushups. Steve said,  I've not really done 300 pushups at one time. So dr. Christensen said, can you do 300 pushups in sets of 10? So Steve said, yes. I think if I push myself, I could probably do 300 pushups in sets of 10. And so dr. Christensen said, I have this project in mind, it's for this Friday evening.

And he explained the project to them and they came to an agreement. And so,  Friday came, it was their last class dr. Christensen came for the last class and Steve sat right in front, end up,  Christensen came with this huge box of donuts. It was not just a deep fried dough by itself, but it had, toppings of all kinds and multiple layers of toppings.

And it was the best donut,  around that anybody could eat. And so when the students saw the donuts, they were excited because their weekend was just about to start a little earlier than they had planned. And it was the last class of the semester. And so dr. Christiansen came to the first goal in the first row and asked Cynthia, do you want one of these donuts?

Cynthia said yes. So dr. Christinson turned to Steve and said, Steve, can you do 10 pushups so that Cynthia can get a donut? Steve got up and very quickly did 10 pushups. And dr. Christensen gave Cynthia a donut. Then he went to the next person. Joe, do you want a donut? Joe said, yes. The professor said, Steve, can you do 10 pushups?

So Steve came back again and did 10 pushups for the donut. And dr. Christensen gave the donut to Joe. Then he went down the first aisle and for every person that said, yes, Steve had to do 10 pushups  before they got their donuts. And so dr. Christensen came to the second row. In the second row was Scott  who was well-built himself.

He was a basketball player. And so he asked Scott, do you want to donut? Scott said, well, I can do the pushups myself. Christensen said no, Steve needs to do the pushups. Do you want a donut? Scott said, well, I don't want a donut. So dr. Christiansen looked at Steve and said, Steve, can you do 10 pushups for a donut that Scott does not want?

So Scott said, well, I don't want a donut. What are you doing? Dr. Christensen said, this is my class. It's my rules  for every donut, for every person, Steve has to do 10 pushups. So Steve came and did 10 pushups and dr. Christensen put the donut in front of Scott and said, if you don't want it, you don't need to take it.

And so he comes to the third row. And now the students are starting to get a little bit angry. And so dr. Christensen asked Jenny, Jenny, do you want a donut? Jenny said, no. He turned to, Steven said, Steve, can you do 10 pushups for a donut that Jenny does not want? And now there was a growing sense of uneasiness in the room, people were starting to say no. And Steve was starting to get extremely tired as he did series of 10 pushups each for all these people, there were all these donuts that were being left on the table, untouched and Steve was struggling now. So dr. Christensen now comes to the fourth row and as he was on the fourth floor, there were other people that came into the classroom.

There was a student that wandered from another class and as he wandered in, Christensen asked him, Jason, do you want a donut? And before anybody else could say anything or stop him? He said, yes. So Steve did. 10 pushups. And dr. Christensen gave him a doughnut. And now there were a total of about 35 people in the classroom and Steve needs to do 350 pushups.

He finally comes to the last two students. By now steve is exhausted and he's barely doing these pushups. He comes to the second to last person. He comes to Linda and asked Linda, do you want to donate? Linda very quietly said no. Thank you, Steve. 10 more pushups for a donut that Linda does not want. He did it very slowly.

And finally, dr. Christensen came to the last girl, Susan and asked her, Susan, do you want a donut? Susan with tears in her eyes said, dr. Christiansen, why can't I help him? Dr. Christensen said, Steve has to do it alone. It's an agreement that I made with him. This is the last class of the year. And I wanted to have a party, but I looked at the grades and I found that Steve was the only person with the perfect grade.

The rest of you all turned in incomplete work, missed classes and turn in shoddy assignments. So I made an agreement with Steve. And said that if the rest of the class wants to be part of the donut party, Steve needs to do 10 pushups for each person. And so he paid the price for each person to come to the party.

then he said, Steve, would you do 10 pushups for Susan? And so Steve struggled with the last 10 pushups and with the last pushup, he fell down and collapsed and he needed to be helped back to his seat, but he knew that he had completed the work that was asked of him. 

Ladies and gentlemen, the offer of salvation is available to everyone.

Every human being has been given the donut. The price has already been paid when Jesus paid with his death on the cross, he paid for the sins of every single person. It's already been paid for. The pushups have been done. The donut is in front of you. You can take the offer of salvation or you can leave it and walk away.

if you are listening to me, I bet you do not walk away. Yeah, do not walk away. The free gift of salvation has been given. Do not leave it on the table. I beg you do not leave it on the table and walk away.

revelation chapter 20 verse 14 and 15 reads, then death and Hades were thrown into the Lake of fire. The Lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the Lake of fire.

For God. So loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

I want to give the opportunity for two groups of people to respond to the summit.

number one. If there is anybody listening who has never invited Jesus into your life, the donut is right in front of you on the table. The offer of salvation is right in front of you on the table. You can use your will. To choose to take the free gift of selfish you can choose to love God. You can choose to accept the salvation that comes through Jesus Christ.

If that is your choice this morning, you can pray a prayer with me. 

Secondly, if there is anyone who knows of someone. Who has never invited Jesus into their lives. Maybe it's a friend or a family member. You can also pray with me.

There's anyone here. Who's never invited Jesus into your life and now wants to take that step. Of accepting the salvation that is put before you, you can pray something like this, dear God, I'm a sinner and I deserve death. I have committed sin against an infinite God and deserve infinite punishment.

Thank you for the free offer of salvation that is available for me and today, I want to choose not to walk away from it. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for his life. Thank you for his death. Thank you for his resurrection. Thank you for the death of Jesus in my place and the free gift of salvation. I asked Jesus to come into my life and make me complete.

Take me from being bound to words, hell, to being on the journey to heaven.

Heavenly father, I pray for anybody here who knows somebody who still does not know you. It may be a family member or a friend. I pray that you would use them to share the good news about Jesus Christ to those people so that nobody would reject you. Lord God,

I pray that you would give. Those people that have friends and family members that don't know you yet, you will give them the words to say so that they can talk about Jesus so that we will all choose to be with you. We will all choose to love you. We did not love you first, Lord God, you loved us while we were still sinners.

And you died for us. Thank you. That you have provided a place for us to spend eternity with you in Jesus' name. I pray. Amen.

 If you have any questions, maybe some of these questions on hell were not answered with the sermon. There are many questions. If there are questions or comments, or if you made a commitment today, I would love to hear from you.

Please go to my website, Anushjohn.com and use the contact page there and let us know. We would love to hear from you and pray for you. God bless.