Lessons Learned Too Late!

Luke 16:19-31. Here is the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus.

Lazarus died and was carried up to Heaven. Chosen, redeemed and born of God--he entered into glory. "The rich man also died." What became of him? "In Hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment!" 

 Our Lord here allows us to look beyond the grave. He allows us to look into Hell itself. He shows us the pains, feelings and desires of a damned man one who is forever shut up in Hell. Here are seven things that the rich man learned, but he learned them too late! He learned them in Hell! I pray that you will not learn them too late. 

1. Death does not end all. "If a man dies, shall he live again?" Indeed, we shall. We all have an immortal soul that will live on forever after our bodies are in the grave. Will you spend eternity in the bliss and glory of Heaven--or in the torments of the damned in Hell? 

2. There is a real place called "Hell." Hell is as real as the town in which you live. The same Inspired Book that tells us about Heaven and the eternal bliss of the redeemed, also tells us about Hell and the eternal misery of the damned. I do not know where it is, and I cannot imagine what it is, but Hell is a real place. The rich man found out too late, that Hell is not a myth. 

3. A holy God must and will punish sin. God is so inflexibly just and holy, that when the sin of His people was imputed to His own dear Son He poured out His infinite wrath upon Him! In the same way He who punished His Son for sin He will certainly punish you for your sin, if it is not removed by His Son. 

4. Hell is a place of endless torment. The rich man cried, "I am tormented in this flame!" Hell is a place of unfulfilled lust and desire a place of eternal mental, moral and physical agony. 

5. Christ is the only way of salvation. The rich man's riches, religion, and works, were of no value to him in Hell. Missing Christ, he lost all! 

6. Unless a man repents, he will surely perish. In Hell this man realized that without repentance, there is no salvation. (verse 30) 

7. No one can ever be saved without hearing and believing the gospel. (verses 28-31) Be wise now and believe the gospel. Trust Christ, lest you also perish forever under the wrath of God!

[Don Fortner]

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Sin No More!!

Sin dwells in hell, and holiness in heaven. Remember that every temptation is from the devil, to make you like himself. Remember when you sin, that you are learning and imitating of the devil and are so far like him. And the end of all, is that you may feel his pains. If hellfire be not good, then sin is not good. 

[Richard Baxter]

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James 4:7 ... Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

John 8:11-12 ... She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

1 Peter 1:16 ... Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. ❤

When a Lost Man Dies ...

When a lost man dies: his relatives scramble for his money; the worms scramble for his body; and the demons scramble for his soul! What a fearful and sobering picture this is! The world may dress death in velvet and flowers, but God reveals its true horror for the unregenerate soul. The instant a man without Christ breathes his last, everything he loved is torn from him. His money is left behind, becoming a point of contention and greed among his relatives. The body he once adorned and pampered, is claimed by corruption and decay. And his soul the most precious part of his being is cast into eternal Hell. 

The world's goods, its riches, its pleasures, its pomp, its fame what are all these without Jesus? They are a painted pageantry to go to Hell in! They are a mockery to an immortal spirit. They are like a mirage in the desert, deluding the traveler, but not yielding one substantial drop of joy. "I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind!" (Ecclesiastes 1:14) 

Yes! This poor world is a heap of chaff; the only enduring treasure is to be found in Jesus. If you neglect Him, you neglect all that is worth having. For the lost, death is not an escape it is the doorway to everlasting punishment. Jesus spoke more often of Hell than of Heaven, warning us with great compassion: "Fear Him who, after killing the body, has power to throw you into Hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him!" (Luke 12:5) 

The man who lives for himself and dies without Jesus, does not rest in peace. He awakens to eternal torment, where hope never dawns, and mercy is no longer offered. Dear reader, do not be deceived. Life is short! Death is certain! Eternity is near! 

A golden coffin will be a poor compensation for a damned soul! 

[Charles H. Spurgeon] 

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Hebrews 9:27 ... And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Mark 8:36 ... For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? ❤

Seven Lessons Learned Too Late!

Here is the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Lazarus died and was carried up to heaven.  Chosen, redeemed and born of God, he entered into glory. But "the rich man also died!" What became of him? "In hell he lift up his eyes, being in torment!" 

Our Lord allows us to look beyond the grave. He allows us to look into hell itself. He shows us the pains, feelings and desires of a damned sinner, one who is forever shut up in hell. 

Here are seven things that old Dives learned. But he learned them too late. He learned them in hell! I pray that you will not learn them too late. 

 1. DEATH DOES NOT END ALL. "If a man die, shall he live again?" Indeed, we shall. We all have an immortal soul that will live on forever, after our bodies are in the grave. Will you spend eternity in the bliss and glory of heaven or in the torments of the damned in hell? 

 2. THERE IS A REAL PLACE CALLED "HELL". Hell is real. The same Inspired Book that tells us about heaven and the eternal bliss of the redeemed tells us about hell and the eternal misery of the damned. I do not know where it is, and I cannot imagine what it is, but hell is a real place. The rich man found out too late that hell is not a myth. 

 3. A HOLY GOD MUST AND WILL PUNISH SIN. God is so inflexibly just and holy that when he found sin upon his own dear Son he poured out his infinite wrath upon him. And he who punished his son for sin will certainly punish you for sin, if your sin is not removed by his son. 

 4. HELL IS A PLACE OF ENDLESS TORMENT. Dives cried, "I am tormented in this flame!" Hell is a place of lust and desire unfulfilled, a place of mental, moral and physical agony. 

 5. CHRIST IS THE ONLY WAY OF SALVATION. The rich man's riches, religion and works were of no value to him in hell. Missing Christ, he lost all! 

 6. EXCEPT A MAN REPENT HE WILL SURELY PERISH. In hell this man realized that without repentance there is no salvation (v. 30). 

 7. NO ONE CAN EVER BE SAVED WITHOUT HEARING AND BELIEVING THE GOSPEL (vv. 28-31). Be wise now and believe the gospel. Trust Christ, lest you also perish forever under the wrath of God. 

 [Don Fortner]

Luke 16:19-31 ... There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

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No Way Out!!

 There are many ways to get into Hell.

"For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it." Matthew 7:13

There is only one way to avoid Hell.

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6

There is no way to get out of Hell.
"They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever!" Revelation 20:10

"They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power!" 2 Thessalonians 1:9

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Damned by Being Self-Righteous!

There is nothing more certain than this: that you cannot be saved and keep your sins they must be parted with. No man can carry fire in his bosom, and yet be safe from burning. While you drink the poison, it must and will work death in you. The thief cannot expect mercy, while he keeps the goods he has stolen. Will you keep your sins and go to Hell or leave your sins and go to Heaven? 

Most men in their heart of hearts would like to have their sins and go to Heaven also. But that cannot be! While God is just, and Heaven is holy, and truth is precious it cannot be! What if the man does not go to Hell as a drunkard, it will not help him if he is damned by being self-righteous. So long as he is lost, I do not see that it materially matters exactly how he goes to Hell. 

Many and many a man have given up outward sin and set up a self-righteousness of his own; and said, "These are my gods!" And so, he fled from a bear, and a lion slew him; he leaned on a wall, and a serpent bit him! All sin must be cast out of the throne of the heart, and whatever righteousness that is not Christ's righteousness, must go with it. I would sincerely put the sword-point to your heart, O sinner, and say, "Give up all that opposes Christ!" For if you do not give it up, your soul will be lost! 

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

2 Corinthians 10:5 ... Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

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Beliefs...

You are free to believe whatever you want to believe. 

 

But the Scriptures say ... 

 Life is short. 

 Death is real. 

 Hell is hot. 

 Eternity is long. 

 Only Jesus saves.

James 4:14 ... Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Hebrews 9:27 ... And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Revelation 20:15 ...  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 ...  I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

Acts 4:12 ... Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

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The Net

Unbelief makes sermons to be like showers of rain falling upon a rock! They neither mollify nor fructify, because men don't really believe them. If men really believed that sin was so bitter, and that wrath and Hell followed it would they take this serpent into their bosom? 

If men really believed that there was a beauty in holiness, that godliness was great gain, that there was joy in the way, and Heaven at the end would not they turn their feet into Christ's holy way? 

Men have some slight transient thoughts of these things; but their minds are not fully convinced, nor their conscience fully captivated into believing them. Unbelief is Satan's masterpiece the net by which he drags millions to Hell! 

[Thomas Watson]

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Psalm 53:1 ... The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.

Hebrews 3:12 ...  Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

Mark 3:29 ... But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation. ❤

The Moment After Death!

I see the sinner who has neglected the Savior, despised the gospel, and refused to repent closing his life in death! His conscience accuses him, divine justice frowns upon him, hope forsakes him, despair seizes upon him, a cold chill of horror passes over his soul, consternation and dread prey upon his vitals! His soul then leaves the body: it is apprehended by the angelic ministers of justice, it is hurried to the horrid pit, it sees in the distance the rolling waves of blue flame, it hears the dreadful screams of tortured millions, it shudders as it sinks into the gloom, an indescribable trembling shakes every power, as it feels the torment! 

See the curling flames surround it, the boiling waves receive it, the ghastly demons fall to work tormenting it, while the dreadful words "FOREVER!" rattle through all the chambers of the heart! It looks back upon time how different does the past appear! It looks forward and O unutterable misery; there is spread out a vast eternity of varied, endless sufferings! How appalling does GOD appear now! 

His wrath, how fearful, His holiness, how dreadful, His unchangeableness, what a source of agonizing woe! The thought of His mercy only aggravates present misery; and a view of His slighted grace, adds a thousand pangs to the punishment inflicted by a roused and honest conscience. All is now dreadful gloom, tormenting foreboding, and black despair! The terrified spirit looks every way for sympathy, but finds none; for a way of escape, but there is none; for something to mitigate its dreadful sufferings, but in vain! Shivering, shuddering, terrified, and despairing it now exclaims in words it once disregarded: "Oh! if this awesome God would let me die, and not torment me to eternity! Oh! would He free me from this dreadful woe, But no! I'm lost, I'm damned, forever so! Cursed be the day I treated with neglect The gospel call, and free grace reject; Oh! could I now one invitation hear, to cool my burning heart and calm this fear! 

Oh! if this awesome God would let me die, and not torment me to eternity!  Oh! would He free me from this dreadful woe, But no! I'm lost, I'm damned, forever so! But no, my doom is fixed, tis all in vain, my portion now is everlasting pain! Hopeless I sink into the dark abyss, Banished forever from eternal bliss! In boiling waves of vengeance must I lie? 

Oh! could I but curse this dreadful God and die! Infinite years in torment must I spend, And never, never, never at an end! And must I live in torturing despair, As many years, as atoms in the air? When these are spent as many thousands more, As grains of sand that crowd the ebbing shore? When all these doleful years are spent in pain, and multiplied by myriads again, till numbers drown the thought! could I suppose that then my wretched years were at a close! This would afford some ease, but oh! I shiver, to think upon the dreadful sound, FOREVER! In the burning gulf where I blaspheme lie, TIME is no more, but vast ETERNITY!" 

Reader, what if this should be your doom? If you die unconverted, it certainly will be. It may be before twenty-four hours have passed away! How dreadful is the bare supposition, but infinitely more dreadful would the reality be! What must have been the feeling of that rich man referred to by our Lord, when "in Hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment!" What would your feelings be? "Unless you repent you must likewise perish!" 

[James Smith] 

Luke 16:23-24 ...  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

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The Living and The Dead.

 If the Living knew what the Dead knew, the entire world would follow Jesus the Christ.

Luke 16:22-23 ... And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Matthew 25:46 ...  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Mark 9:47 ...  And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:

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Cease To Exist.

The problem with Hell being eternal is that it goes against the nature of God who designs all things according to his divine nature. To suggest that Hell is forever means that evil and sin will still reside in the shadows of perfection. This was not the belief in both the Old and New Testament. 

The word perish means to be destroyed, render into oblivion. In other words, to perish or be destroyed carry’s the notion that at some point in the endless age of eternity, every living creature who rejects Christ will ultimately be annihilated, they will cease to exist. 

That is the cold stark reality of Hell, that those who persist to live contrary to the will of God will, at some point be rendered obsolete. How tragic. That’s the true meaning of torment, knowing that one’s very existence will cease to exist. 

[Christopher Gregory] 

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Matthew 10:28 ...  And fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Revelation 20:14 ... And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. ❤

A Dreadful Release!!

When a poor lost soul dies, who has long lingered under some painful bodily disease, it is often said, "It is good for him that he is released from his pain." Yet it is a dreadful release from earth to Hell! 

 [Richard Hill]

Luke 16:22-23 ... And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

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Made for Frivolities?

Were you made only to be a machine for digging holes, laying bricks, or cutting out pieces of wood? Were you created only to stand at a counter and measure or weigh out goods? Do you think your God made you for that and that only? Is this the chief end of man to earn so many dollars a week, and try to make ends meet? Is that all immortal men were made for? 

As a man with a soul, capable of thought and judgment and not a mere animal like a dog, nor a machine like a steam engine; can you stand up and look at yourself, and say, "I believe I am perfectly fulfilling my destiny"? God has made man that he may glorify him and whatever else man accomplishes, if he attains not to this end, his life is a disastrous failure! 

Others are lovers of pleasure. They are merry as the birds, their life is as the flight of a butterfly, which lightly floats from flower to flower, according to its own sweet will. It cannot be that an immortal spirit was made for frivolities spending all its time on the playthings of the world. So great a thing as an immortal soul could not have been made by God with no higher object than to spend itself upon trifles as light as air.

Oh, pause a while, you are a careless, godless one! There is something more than the fool's laugh. All things are not a comedy. Death and Heaven and Hell are serious, and should not life be? The charms of music, the merriment of the mirthful assembly, the beauties of art, and the delights of banqueting there must be something more for you than these. Something more must be required of you than that you should waste your precious time from morn to night upon nothing but to please yourself! 

[Charles H. Spurgeon] 

Micah 6:8 ... He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

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More Dreadful Than Hell!

The godly man has a deep sense of the evil of sin. He looks upon sin as the bitter root, from which springs all the woes and wars, all the sadness and sorrow, all the pains and pollution, all the misery and madness, and all the torment and terror to be found in God's universe! He regards sin as that abominable thing which God hates!

It is to him a loathsome object; and a subject fraught with all that is base, degrading, and horrible. He looks at sin as more dreadful than Hell! Indeed, he considers sin to be the evil of all evils and considers that nothing is evil in comparison with sin! He often thinks of sin as it has grieved God's heart, murdered God's only begotten Son, and vexed and resisted the Holy Spirit. 

O if he could be but free from sin! 

[James Smith] 

Romans 7:24 ... O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

Romans 12:9 ...  Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

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Why Should Any Man Complain?

Occasionally I am tempted to complain of my hard lot and think myself harshly dealt with. Ingratitude rises and works in my heart. This always makes me wretched. I then find it profitable to look down into Hell and realize its horrors and agonies as my just deserving's. If anyone ever deserved to go to Hell, I did! If justice was ever honored in a sinner's damnation, it would have been in mine! If anyone was ever saved by grace alone, I am the man! 

Shall I then, who deserve to be in Hell, but am not; shall I, who am an heir of Heavenly glory, though no one ever deserved it less; shall I, because of a few trials, troubles, and disappointments, or because I have rather a heavy cross to carry shall I dare to murmur, or fret, or complain, or think myself harshly dealt with? Shocking inconsistency! 

What are my present pains or sufferings, compared with the Hell that I deserve! All the afflictions that I am called to endure here on earth, cannot be compared with only twenty-four hours in Hell! And yet my desert is, not to be in Hell for a few hours, but forever! Surely every lost soul, every damned spirit, will be ready to upbraid me, if I complain of my present lot! What base gratitude if I do not praise the Lord with joyful lips, for His rich, free, and sovereign grace! 

O my soul, whenever I am tempted to complain of my difficult lot, think of my deserving's! Think of what would have been my eternal doom, if God had not saved me by His sovereign grace! Yes, I do find that looking down into Hell silences my complaints, awakens my gratitude, and humbles me in the dust before my God! 

[James Smith] 

Lamentations 3:39 ... Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?

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Rejecters of Christ.

What a wonderful display of divine benevolence is this! What an extraordinary exhibition of sovereign love, to rebel sinners such as we are! "You will not come to Me, that you might have life!" (John 5:40) Rejecters of Christ are ungrateful, inexcusable and suicidal. How can we properly represent the blackness of that ingratitude which refuses to come to Jesus for eternal life! 

Surely, surely, no one can pity the sinner who dies because he will not receive a pardon, because he will not have eternal life! Sinner, if you perish, you are a suicide! You die by your own hand! You die because you will not come to Jesus and have eternal life. Such conduct must certainly be inexcusable. Surely, the very devils will laugh that sinner to scorn to all eternity, who goes to Hell from beneath the sound of the everlasting gospel. He would not have eternal life! He would not go to Heaven! 

There was the gate, but he would not pass through it. There was the road, but he would not travel it. There was eternal life offered, but he would not have it. He would go to Hell. He was determined to do so. He chose death and damnation in his erroneous way. He would not be stopped, either by the invitations of divine mercy, or the threatening of divine wrath! 

No offer of eternal life was ever made to devils after they had fallen; so that they are more excusable in one sense than the sinner who perishes, because he will not come unto Jesus, and have life. What a thought is this! There is an enormity about the sin of rejecting eternal life by Christ, not even to be found in the sin of devils! 

[James Smith] 

1 John 5:11 ... And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

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"Consider Your Ways"

God commands you to consider, and you cannot neglect to do so, but you sin. Your circumstances require it of you, and you cannot neglect to do so, but you must be losers thereby. God complains, "My people do not consider!" Inconsideration has ruined thousands and will ruin thousands more. But shall it ruin you? It will, if you give way to it. Let me entreat you to do so no longer. 

Consider that you are immortal and must live forever. Your BODY will die, and perhaps soon. But not so your SOUL, it never dies. Death changes its place, but not its nature. It leaves earth for Heaven, or for Hell! It lives as much when the body is dead, as it did before. It is conscious, and capable of enjoying the highest pleasures, or of enduring the most dreadful torments! And one or the other will be its lot. Heaven, or Hell, happiness, or misery, always follows upon death! Surely an immortal being ought to consider: Where shall I be after death? What shall I be? Among whom shall I have my eternal portion? 

Is it rational to confine our attention to the present time and the present world, when time bears no comparison to eternity; and our stay in this present world must be brief? Consider that you are a sinner: You have broken God's law. You have incurred God's displeasure. You are condemned by God's Word. You deserve God's wrath. Your heart is alienated from God. You act in opposition to God. You lie absolutely at God's mercy, and at any moment He could cut you down, and send you to Hell. You have no right to expect anything but justice at His hands! And if He dealt with you after your sins, and rewarded you according to your iniquities, your doom would be indescribably dreadful! 

Reader! "Consider your ways!" Consider that you are immortal, and that you must live somewhere forever! Consider that you are a sinner, and that you cannot live in Heaven as such! Consider that you may be saved, for the Lord Jesus Christ is both able and willing to save sinners! Consider that you can only be saved by sincere faith in Christ! Consider that you must denounce your own righteousness and rely solely on His finished work! Consider that if you are saved by Christ, you will live to Christ. He will be your Lord, as well as your Savior. He will be your example, as well as your atoning sacrifice! Consider that faith is the root of holiness, and a holy life alone proves our faith to be genuine. 

"This is what the Lord Almighty says: Consider your ways!" 

[James Smith] 

Haggai 1:7 ... Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.

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If We Could Hear the Awful Splash!

Must it not rather be said of many of us: "They perish forever without anyone regarding it?" Souls are daily, hourly perishing, but who regards it? Hell is filling, but who regards it? Satan is reaping a tremendous harvest, but who regards it? Every hour, every minute, every second souls are sinking into Hell, but who regards it? 

Friends, do you ever weep over perishing sinners? Is it not astonishing, that we can go to the house of God and pass multitudes of ungodly, careless creatures that throng our streets, and never shed a tear! Is it not more astonishing still, that we can preach on the torments of the lost, and the joys of the saved, and see the great mass of the people around us rejecting it, yes, refusing to listen to it and not weep bitter, bitter tears! 

We do not half believe what we preach, or what we hear! We do not half believe the infallible statements of Holy Scripture in reference to the dreadful realities of eternal Hell, or else we would feel deeply, and weep frequently too. The holy Apostle Paul, speaking of his labors at Ephesus, says, "Remember, that by the space of three years, I ceased not to warn every one day and night with tears!" (Acts 20:31) 

Our adorable Lord and Savior, when He came near to Jerusalem just before His death, "He beheld the city, and wept over it!" Oh, to feel as Paul felt! As Jesus felt! If we realized the danger of sinners, and the terrors of Hell as they did, we would weep as they wept! We should feel for sinners, as if we saw them suspended over the burning lake of Hell, and one after another falling in! We should feel for sinners, as if we could hear the awful splash, as the lost soul takes its terrific plunge into the liquid flaming brimstone! 

[James Smith] 

Jeremiah 9:1 ... Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

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Yes, Fear Him!

God does not throw sin into hell. He throws the sinner into hell. Hell is hell not because God is not there. Hell is hell because God is there in the fullness of his wrath. This is the God of Scripture! 

 [Paul Washer] 

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Luke 12:4-5 ... And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.   But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Hebrews 10:31 ... It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Hebrews 12:29 ... For our God is a consuming fire.

Matthew 10:28 ... And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.❤

O, Eternity!!

Who do I see in those dark regions, stung incessantly with the ruthless fangs of the never-dying worm? A numerous crowd, who once despised the gospel of God and turned a deaf ear to the messages of salvation. In neglect and contempt of Christ, and the things of His kingdom, they went away: one to his farm, another to his business; preferring, either the pleasures of sense, or the paltry concerns of this transitory world to the treasures of the everlasting gospel, and the momentous affairs of eternity. 

Woe unto them! it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for them! Who, let me repeat the inquiry, Who do I behold in those infernal flames? The rich man, Dives! For eighteen hundred years he has been crying out in vain for one drop of water to cool his scorched tongue. But are his miseries any nearer to a close? Ah, no! The smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever! Their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched!  Should the ablest arithmetician try to number the ages of eternity, he would be forever baffled. 

O, eternity! eternity! immense, unfathomable depth! Millions of millions of ages, and ten thousand times ten thousand millions more, would diminish nothing from the account of eternity! Is it possible for dying mortals to push the thought of eternity from their minds? Is it possible for them to be as thoughtless about it, as if it were no more than an idle dream? What can exceed what can equal the stupidity, the insensibility, the madness of sinful man! Lost sinner! where are you? Just on the verge of the burning lake! Should the feeble thread of life be cut, should you die in your present state then inevitable eternal damnation awaits you! 

Ask yourself seriously, "Can you dwell with devouring fire? Can you dwell with everlasting burnings?" If you can, go on and add iniquity to sin; still treasure up more wrath against the day of wrath; and, for the sordid, the short-lived pleasures of sin, reap eternal ages of woe and horror! You are purchasing your carnal delights at a dear rate indeed. Such is the horrid nature of sin, that its proper wages, its just desert is everlasting damnation, an eternal Hell of misery! 

[John Fawcett]

Jude 11: Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

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