Hell

Excerpt from Dan Kimball "If you think I'm going to hell, you should care that I'm going to hell"

I haven't yet asked, but I may have given the longest sermon I ever have today - three times. This was the sermon on hell that was part of the "Hot Theology" series we have been going through. The series was based out of questions from those in our church that we tallied up and compiled the most commonly asked questions and one was about "hell"- what is hell and "Would a loving God send people to hell?" It just isn't easy speaking about hell and trying to wrap it up in 35 minutes or so.
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Far too much to write about here - but I stressed how we don't want to focus on hell and punishment as something we dwell on, but at the same time we must not ever forget it. It seems easy for churches and Christians to forget or because it is uncomfortable not talk about it or teach on it. We can so easily just get busy in our Christian-world, we don't really take serioulsy praying for those who are outside the church and Christian world. But it is easy to forget, beacuse we don't hear hell talked about too much. It is actually odd it isn't talked about as it is in the teachings of Jesus and in the New Testament just as much, or if not more, than other things we seem to regularly teach about. But then on the other extreme, those who do talk about it, seem to be consumed with it in an unhealthy way - preaching on it all the time, using it as a weapon, the signs about hell you see on street corners sort of a thing - and I don't want to go the other extreme where in some circles hell is something talked about so much - the beauty of the holistic gospel is lost in the extreme focus on hell and punishment.

But, as I shared in my long sermon and now in this long blog post, the thought of eternal "shutting out" from the presence of God is so strong and horrible that it causes me to I used a Spurgeon quote in closing:

"If sinners be dammed, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for."

- Charles Spurgeon

That was the day of preaching 3 times on hell. Not an easy thing to tackle or understand or figure out how to balance a belief in eternal hell but balancing it with the beauty of the gospel for this life and the life to come. But if we believe in hell - then as Elaine said - "if you think I am going to hell, you should care that I'm going to hell".