Why I Preached About Hell…
This past weekend I spoke on the REALITY of hell. I frequently mention hell in my talks… usually in verbal zingers like:
Hell is hot, heaven is not
or
We are plundering hell and populating heaven
But, I took the entire weekend to talk about the sobering reality of hell. The craziest part of the talk was its CONTEXT… in the middle of a series about the GOOD NEWS of the gospel (KICKS)!!!
Why would I do this? Am I sadistic? Do I get a kick out of others being damned?
Here are a few reasons why I was COMPELLED to preach on hell:
- Jesus spoke about hell… a lot.
- I must be more concerned about God’s approval than the favor of friends.
- Where the Bible is clear, I must be clear… The reality of hell is clear.
- I didn’t want to. This exposed a thread of ‘people pleasing’ in me that I had to PREACH through in order to have integrity with God.
- Recognizing the reality of hell builds health in the person and in the church.
- Sometimes to get to the GOOD NEWS you have to STARE DOWN the BAD NEWS.
- We must have an URGENCY at Keystone to reach those far from God.
The result: Major momentum coming out of the weekend.
One first time guest approached me afterward and blew my mind! He was initially put off by the topic and resigned to just ‘get through’ the talk. Yet, as he listened, God spoke to him in a powerful way. His compassion for others was renewed and his determination to make a difference was ignited! Good news for sure!
Don’t pick and choose the verses in the Bible you like… Face the hard truths and they just might release you to your potential!
Great job Brandon, it’s so important to communicate and speak clearly about a doctrine like this. I think the defining hallmark of what separates Christianity from all other religions is love. But you can’t have the kind or even degree of love our God has without the depths of the true penalty for sin. Way to go! It’s so hard to communicate what the Bible both does and does not say, sometimes starting with what he’ll is not breaks down people’s preconceived notions (read barriers) so they can receive Gods word on this issue. Keep it up!