GET OUT OF HELL FREE

Matthew 25:31-46
31 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right, "Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. . . . "41 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. . . . " 46 Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

In an online column, Randy writes about strange--but true--news items that he gleans from newspapers around the world. When a reader didn't like a story he wrote and suggested a place he'd like him to reside, Randy created the "Get Out of Hell Free" card. Using the game of Monopoly for his inspiration, he produced parody cards that look a lot like the original "Get Out of Jail" card.

Hmmm. Very clever. I'm guessing that Randy doesn't believe that there really is a place called hell. If he did, he probably wouldn't be joking about it. A lot of people think that hell is the place where most of their friends will end up. You know, maybe like the bar scene in Star Wars--a little weird, but a mostly friendly place, where you can hang with your buddies and have a good time.

But it won't be party-time in hell. Jesus said that it's a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. It is a place of "fire" (Matthew 13:40-42; 25:41; Revelation 20:15), "torment" (Luke 16:28), and "eternal punishment" (Matthew 25:46).

There will be no good things like friendship in hell, because God will not be there. The Bible says that "every good and perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17). Love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, and faith will be nonexistent in hell, for they are the fruit of the Spirit. "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" (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).

Nobody really wants to go to hell. But by not choosing Jesus, people do choose that final destination. Only through the sacrifice of Jesus, the Son of God, can any of us avoid that terrible place.

The only way to really "get out of hell free"? Believe that Jesus, who never sinned, was crucified. Believe that His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary paid for your sin. Believe that He rose after 3 days. The cost of your debt was Jesus' life. It wasn't free for Him, but it is for you. Confess that you are a sinner and ask Jesus to save you. --Cindy Kasper

DESTINATION POINTS

* Have I made a choice about where I want to spend eternity?
* Am I a sheep or a goat? (Matthew 25:33).

LINKS:
What Does The Bible Say About Hell?
http://www.discoveryseries.org/q1002

bottom line: To deny hell's reality leads to a rude awakening.

soul journey