Participants: John Bradshaw
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW001328
00:06 It has stood the test of time, God's book, the Bible,
00:16 still relevant in today's complex world. 00:22 It Is Written, 00:25 sharing hope around the globe. 00:36 Thanks for joining me today. 00:37 I'm John Bradshaw - and this is It Is Written. 00:42 A number of years ago I met a young woman named Mary Ellen. 00:45 Standing at the door of her apartment in a small, 00:47 Southern town where I was at the time, I noticed right 00:50 away that she was ... 00:52 she was different. 00:53 I wasn't sure exactly how, but she was different. 00:58 The more I spoke to her, the more I noticed. 01:00 I began to notice that her hair was different. 01:03 I don't mean weird, I don't mean outlandish, it was just 01:07 different. 01:08 Her clothes, her makeup, her jewelry, all were a little... 01:12 What's that word I'm looking for? 01:14 That's it ...different. 01:16 As we spoke, I learned that not only was she a very nice 01:19 young woman, but that Mary Ellen had been raised a 01:22 Christian. 01:23 But she said to me: "But now I don't go to church," before 01:27 adding, "Although I do, sort of." 01:31 I had to know what she meant by that, so, standing in the 01:33 humid heat of a southern summer afternoon, I asked her 01:35 to explain. 01:36 She got right to the point. 01:38 She said "John, I was raised in a hell-fire and brimstone 01:41 -spitting [and here she named the denomination], 01:43 a hell-fire and brimstone -spitting church, 01:46 where the preacher would talk about God roasting and toasting 01:48 and torturing and frying people in hell for all eternity 01:50 - for as long as time would last. 01:53 He said again and again [this is Mary Ellen telling me] he 01:56 said again and again that people would burn and burn 01:59 and burn, and that their burning would never come to 02:01 an end." 02:02 I tell you, it was obvious Mary Ellen still felt 02:04 strongly about this. 02:05 And then she added, "So I decided that if that's what 02:07 God was like, I'd be better off without Him. 02:10 So that's why I don't go to church anymore. 02:13 And then she added, "although I do, sort of." 02:18 Mary Ellen could see the questioning in my eyes, so 02:20 she spelled things out for me nice and clearly. 02:23 "John," she said, "I'm now a witch." 02:28 Which was the first time I'd ever had someone tell me 02:30 THAT! 02:31 I glanced around to see if there was a broomstick 02:33 nearby, I mean, I really did. 02:35 But all I saw was her little red car parked out front. 02:38 "A witch?" 02:39 I said - acting like people told me that sort of thing 02:42 every day. 02:43 "Well, what kind of witch?" 02:44 She explained to me that she met with other witches at 02:46 organized services (which is why she said she 'sort of' 02:49 attended church), and told me some of the details of what 02:52 she did as a real-life, fully paid up, practicing witch. 02:56 She was bothered by the subject of hell - and she's 03:00 not the first person to have had some real questions about 03:04 hell nor is she the first person to wrestle with that 03:07 subject. 03:08 What's interesting is that came to the place where she 03:10 was SO bothered by what's actually a very common 03:13 Christian teaching that she entirely rejected the notion 03:17 of the existence of God altogether. 03:20 "God cannot possibly be like that, therefore there is no 03:23 God," she concluded. 03:25 She rejected the God of the eternally burning hell. 03:28 So my question for you is - was she right to do that, or 03:31 was she wrong? 03:33 Was she right to reject the idea that God burns people 03:36 for ever and ever? 03:37 Now, I'm not asking if you think she was right to become 03:40 a witch! 03:41 I think we know the answer to that. 03:43 But did she have a point - was she right to be repulsed 03:45 by the thought of an eternally burning hell? 03:49 Today we're going to look at this subject of hell - hell 03:51 fire. 03:55 [Sound of fire crackling] 04:02 Can we know with certainty what the Bible teaches 04:03 on the subject? 04:05 As Frances Chan and Preston Sprinkle wrote in their book 04:07 "Erasing Hell" - they said "We can't afford to be wrong 04:10 about this." 04:12 A couple of years ago a well-known pastor in the 04:14 United States sparked a debate on the subject that 04:16 ended up involving some of America's theological 04:19 heavyweights. 04:20 The question being asked was, Is there a Hell? 04:24 And if there is, what's it like? 04:27 Well evidently this pastor's thinking was challenged when 04:30 someone suggested that Gandhi was burning in Hell. 04:34 So the pastor wrestled with this idea, the idea that a 04:36 person would burn in hell forever and ever and ever - 04:40 and his questions on what hell might be like - coupled 04:43 with what struck some people as a definite lack of 04:46 conclusions - got a lot of people asking a lot of 04:49 questions. 04:51 So what IS hell like? 04:53 Have you ever given that question much thought? 04:56 It seems to me that most people have at one time or 04:58 another. 04:59 In the good old days preachers (or were they the 05:01 bad old days?) ... 05:02 in the good old days preachers would do their best 05:04 to preach the hottest hell they could muster up. 05:07 Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards's sermon "Sinner in 05:09 the Hands of an Angry God" was a classic sermon back in 05:13 the 1700s. 05:14 In that sermon he said, "The pit is prepared. 05:18 The fire is made ready. 05:19 The furnace is now hot, ready to receive them [that's the 05:22 sinners]. 05:23 The flames do now rage and glow. 05:26 The glittering sword is whet, and held over them, and the 05:30 pit has opened her mouth under them... 05:32 O sinner! 05:33 Consider the fearful danger you are in!" 05:37 About two thirds of Americans believe there is a hell - but 05:41 not everyone sides with Jonathan Edwards about what 05:44 it is like. 05:45 As far back as the year 2000 US News and World Report 05:49 magazine dedicated it's cover article to the subject of 05:52 hell. 05:54 And they reported in the article that more people 05:56 believe hell to be simply an anguished state of existence 06:00 separated from God than believe in hell as a place 06:04 where people will suffer eternal fiery torments. 06:07 The article quoted Pope John Paul the second as saying 06:10 that - and I quote -- "rather than a place, hell indicates 06:14 the state of those who freely and definitively separate 06:19 themselves from God." 06:21 Now that's different to what I learned when I attended a 06:23 parochial school as a kid: we were told about a hell that 06:27 would burn forever and ever and ever. 06:30 We were told [they said it was in the Bible] that if you 06:34 were good you went to heaven forever, and if you were bad 06:36 you went to hell forever. 06:38 That's what we were told. 06:39 But a growing number of people are challenging that 06:42 idea. 06:43 So what's the truth? 06:45 We're going to examine some of the most commonly-held 06:48 views on the subject of Hell Fire. 06:51 "Those who would have us compromise the faith of our 06:53 fathers say they do it in the name of love, fellowship, 06:59 while at the same time calling us close-minded, 07:01 sectarian legalists, all those rules, and rights and 07:04 rituals ... 07:05 Where was Christ? 07:07 With fishermen, and tax collectors, dining with 07:10 sinners and publicans. 07:12 Can there be a more shining example of unity fellowship 07:15 than that? 07:16 That's coming up in just a moment. 07:25 In Matthew 4:4 the Word of God says "It is written 'Man 07:29 shall not live by bread alone but by every word that 07:33 proceeds out of the mouth of God'." 07:35 Every Word is a one minute Bible-based daily devotional 07:38 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed 07:41 especially for busy people like you. 07:44 Look for Every Word on selected networks or watch it 07:48 on-line everyday on our website itiswritten.com. 07:50 Receive a daily spiritual boost. 07:53 Watch Every Word. 07:54 You'll be glad you did. 08:00 I'm John Bradshaw. 08:01 Thanks for joining me today on It Is Written. 08:03 So what's the truth about hell fire? 08:07 Does God really burn people in hell forever? 08:10 Maybe he doesn't burn anyone in hell? 08:13 Maybe there's no hell - maybe there is? 08:15 Whatever the truth is, we ought to be able to find out 08:17 from the Bible just what that truth of the matter is. 08:21 So let us today look at what the Bible says. 08:24 We'll also look at several commonly-held ideas about 08:27 hell. 08:28 One of them is the school of thought that is known as 08:31 Universal Reconciliation. 08:34 It suggests that everyone will ultimately be reconciled 08:37 to God and so therefore there's no need for an 08:39 eternally burning hell - or even a temporarily burning 08:41 hell. 08:42 Which isn't altogether unrelated to the suggestion 08:45 made by Pope John Paul the second. 08:47 Before he died he went on the record as saying that hell 08:49 isn't a place but a state of being and that the Bible 08:54 simply uses symbolic language when it talks about hell the 08:57 hot place. 08:59 You can understand why those ideas might appeal to people 09:02 - but do they stack up with what the Bible says? 09:05 You see, it's important for people to form their 09:08 religious beliefs based on the word of God. 09:12 There's not a lot of point simply believing whatever it 09:14 is you want to believe - especially if it isn't 09:17 accurate! 09:18 Does the Bible teach that there's no hell? 09:20 And keep this in mind as we study: what you believe about 09:23 hell essentially reveals what you believe about God. 09:27 God's character is implicated in this subject. 09:31 What does hell or one's understanding of hell say 09:35 about God? 09:37 Perhaps the first person we ought to speak to about this 09:39 is Jesus. 09:40 And here's what Jesus said in Matthew 10:28. 09:46 "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the 09:48 soul. 09:49 But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and 09:53 body in hell." 09:56 That sounds a lot like Jesus thought there was a hell. 09:59 Or was He just speaking metaphorically? 10:03 Descriptively? 10:04 Was Jesus merely making a point? 10:06 Well, the Greek word He used for 'hell' is the word 10:08 'Gehenna' - That's the word Jesus used when He was 10:11 referring to a place of burning. 10:14 It sounds like Jesus thought there was an actual hell. 10:19 So what if there was no hell? 10:20 Some people believe that if there was no actual place 10:23 called hell and if sinners didn't burn and burn and burn 10:26 and burn there, that that would remove the motivation 10:30 for sinners to be saved? 10:32 Well - I can see what they're getting at. 10:35 But really? 10:37 No. 10:38 Because as the Bible says, "We love him (why?) because 10:42 He first loved us," (that's 1 John 4:19) 10:47 not "we love Him because we're afraid that if 10:50 we don't we're doomed!" 10:51 In 2 Corinthians 5:14 Paul wrote that "the love of 10:55 Christ compels us" - in other words, our motivation to want 11:00 to follow God and accept Jesus as our Savior doesn't 11:03 come or shouldn't come from the idea that there's a hell. 11:05 The motivation to follow Jesus comes from the love of 11:08 God. 11:10 Not from fear. 11:11 If the only reason or the main reason a person wants to 11:14 be saved is because they're afraid of what happens if 11:16 they don't, that person is missing the point just a 11:20 little bit. 11:21 I've heard that called "fire escape religion" - people 11:23 getting religion just so they can escape the fire. 11:26 But still - you'd hardly be human if you didn't have some 11:29 sort of healthy respect for the fate of the lost. 11:31 In Matthew 13 - discussing the parable of the wheat and 11:34 the tares - Jesus says this in verses 40 to 42: 11:39 "Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the 11:42 fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 11:45 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will 11:49 gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those 11:53 who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the 11:56 furnace of fire. 11:58 There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth." 12:02 So could we really believe that there is no hell at all? 12:06 I'm going to leave it to you to decide that - but when you 12:09 add this to the verses in Revelation that refer to the 12:12 Lake of Fire - you can understand why so many people 12:15 think there IS a hell. 12:17 Well - what about the idea that hell burns forever? 12:20 That's a commonly-held view. 12:22 It's what I was raised to believe - and it seems the 12:26 great majority of Christians were raised to think like 12:29 that and many are raising their kids to think just the 12:31 same way. 12:33 Here's where you find people basing that view. 12:36 Passages like this one found in Revelation chapter 14. 12:41 "Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud 12:43 voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and 12:47 receives his mark in his forehead or in his hand, he 12:50 himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, 12:54 which is poured out full strength into the cup of His 12:57 indignation. 12:58 He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the 13:01 presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the 13:04 Lamb. 13:05 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever 13:11 and ever." 13:12 Revelation 14:9-11 There's another passage much like 13:17 this one over in chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation. 13:20 This is the traditional view, the Jonathan Edwards view 13:23 and it's taught pretty typically in Christian churches today. 13:27 Does this view present the idea that there's a hell? 13:30 Yes it does. 13:31 It suggests strongly that YES there IS a hell. 13:34 But do these verses prove that there's a hell that 13:36 burns forever? 13:38 And are there other ways to understand those texts. 13:42 One significant objection to the idea that hell burns 13:44 forever and ever and ever and ever and ever is this 13:47 question: What sort of picture of God does that 13:52 belief present? 13:53 How can God be just, some people ask, and yet burn 13:57 sinners forever? 14:00 Mary Ellen - the woman I told you about earlier - and many 14:03 others like her have been ... 14:04 have actually been turned away from faith in God 14:06 altogether by this view. 14:07 If God burned people forever... 14:12 we'd have to agree that's a very long time. 14:14 Now there have been any number of theologians who have 14:17 made the case that hell doesn't burn forever. 14:21 One of them was a Church of Christ pastor 14:23 named Edward Fudge. 14:24 When Edward Fudge was just a boy he had some experiences 14:27 that left him asking some hard questions. 14:30 A movie on Edward Fudge's life has been recently 14:33 produced. 14:34 I want you to take a look at this with me right here: 14:36 "What's going on?" 14:40 "Come sit. 14:46 You know David Hollis, don't you?" 14:48 "Sure, he's a good friend." 14:49 "Um Hum. 14:51 Well, I just got off the phone with his mother." 14:53 "What did he do? 14:57 Leave town already?" 15:00 "No. 15:01 There was a car accident." 15:05 "What happened?" 15:07 "Apparently, he lost control, I don't know, 14 near 15:10 Hagget's Creek. 15:11 His pick up flipped over into a ditch and pinned him 15:16 underneath." 15:23 "Is he okay?" 15:27 "They say he died instantly. 15:33 [silence] "I'm sorry son, I 15:41 am truly sorry." 15:44 "Where is he?" 15:45 "What?" 15:46 "Where is Davey now?" 15:50 "He's at the Curtis funeral home. 15:53 They are preparing him for services." 15:55 "It's not what I mean. 15:58 Is he in hell? 16:01 Is Davey in hell?" 16:02 [Sound of fire crackling ...] 16:11 The hot topic of hell. 16:16 According to the Bible, is there a hell, and what's it 16:20 like? 16:21 Does it burn forever? 16:22 Or is there another way to accurately understand the 16:26 reality of hell? 16:28 Before we explore this further, maybe we ought to 16:30 admit that there's a fair amount of fiction mixed in 16:32 with whatever the facts are about hell. 16:35 I remember hearing a preacher claim that hell was located 16:37 somewhere under the Bermuda Triangle. 16:40 Really? 16:41 And that's in... 16:44 what verse of the Bible, exactly? 16:46 Years ago my wife and I were driving across the top of 16:49 Idaho ... 16:50 this was several years BC (before children) and seeing 16:53 as this was also BCP (before cell phones) we stopped, we 16:57 had to stop at a payphone. 16:58 And at the payphone in Idaho I found these - well, there's 17:05 just one in my hand, but I found many of these, just 17:07 like this. 17:08 They'd been stuffed into every crack and holding place 17:12 they could possibly be stuffed into. 17:15 Someone had been out doing their missionary work and 17:17 they had distributed these tracts in the hope that some 17:19 dear soul would not want to go to hell and would instead 17:22 embrace Jesus. 17:24 Now let me read some of this to you. 17:26 I must say it may well be excerpted from a book or 17:29 something larger than this. 17:30 I would credit the source if I had any idea what the 17:32 source was. 17:33 But all I have is my little tract here. 17:37 Now, let me read some of this to you. 17:40 In this passage Jesus takes someone on a guided tour of 17:44 hell. 17:46 It is shaped like a body and is in the center of the Earth 17:49 - and it's populated by snakes and rats and evil 17:51 spirits. 17:52 (Now I would have thought that hell would have 17:54 destroyed the rats and snakes but evidently in this 17:56 scenario that's not the case, which I feel is too bad). 17:59 This tells the story of a woman in this place whose eyes 18:02 and hair and nose have all been burned out and burned off, 18:06 and who is being burned by fire as dead flesh falls 18:11 from her body. 18:12 Let me pick it up. 18:13 I'll read this to you. 18:14 Here we go. 18:15 Stay with me. 18:16 "Oh Lord, oh Lord," she cried, "I want out." 18:21 As we watched she finally got to the top of the pit with 18:24 her feet. 18:25 I thought she was going to get out when a large demon 18:28 with great wings that seemed to be broken at the top and 18:32 hung down his sides ran to her. 18:36 His color was brownish-black, and he had hair all over his 18:39 large form. 18:40 His eyes were set far back into his head, and he was 18:43 about the size of a large grizzly bear. 18:46 The demon rushed up to the woman and pushed her very 18:50 hard backward into the pit and fire. 18:52 I watched in horror as she fell. 18:56 I felt so sorry for her." 18:59 Well, you would. 19:01 Now I'm not questioning the sincerity of the dear soul 19:03 who wrote this, but let's be honest: is there any reason - 19:08 Biblically - to believe that hell is shaped like a human 19:11 body and is in the center of the Earth? 19:16 Rats and snakes and demons like grizzly bears? 19:21 Does the Bible even hint at this? 19:24 Edward Fudge was commissioned to study this subject and he 19:27 was surprised at the direction some of his studies 19:30 too him. 19:30 Watch this. 19:31 "Do you ever get tired of that job?" 19:34 "No .. 19:35 ha ha. 19:36 No, this stuff is deep. 19:37 It takes a while to get through. 19:41 But, what I am trying to do is to verify and disqualify 19:45 each of those cards up there. 19:46 Now, I started with the Old Testament issue, 19:48 traditionalists, they say that there is little or 19:50 nothing about the lost in there, but the 19:52 conditionalists think it has plenty to say. 19:54 "So what do you got?" 19:56 "Well, take a look. 19:58 These, these are all Old Testament texts. 20:02 All of them. 20:03 Now, there are dozens of them. 20:05 You use words like "cut off", "come to nothing," 20:10 "disappear," "destroy," "perish," over here, now and 20:13 that all sounds like oblivion to me." 20:16 "Wait, what about where it says that the worm will not 20:19 die and their fire will not be quenched? 20:21 That sounds like eternal torment to me." 20:23 Where might the Bible suggest that hell burns and then 20:26 eventually burns up and stops burning because it has done 20:29 its job? 20:30 Now John 3:16 talks about a world that would perish. 20:34 Remember "For God so loved the world, he gave his only 20:36 begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not 20:39 perish." 20:40 Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is.... 20:44 DEATH. 20:45 Revelation refers to the lake of fire as the "second 20:49 death". 20:50 Ezekiel 18:4 states that "the soul who sins shall die." 20:54 While the little book of Jude says Sodom and Gomorra are an 20:58 example of what those who "suffer the vengeance of eternal 21:03 fire" will get - and Sodom and Gomorra were turned 21:07 by God into ashes. 21:09 Jude says, that's the example. 21:13 So just as there are verses that some say seem to indicate 21:15 hell burns forever, and ever and ever and ever 21:19 and ever, there are other verses that seem to indicate 21:22 hell burns and eventually burns out. 21:26 And the big challenge is, "What does hell say about the 21:30 character of God?" 21:33 Quoted in that US News and World Report article I told 21:36 you about earlier, Dr Clark Pinnock suggested that a God 21:39 who would torture people for all eternity is "more nearly 21:42 like Satan than like God." 21:46 Here's what we know for sure. 21:47 If we're talking about three different views on hell, all 21:50 three of them can't possibly be right. 21:53 And we know the Bible is true - the answer must certainly 21:56 be in there. 21:57 And something else we can keep in mind is that God is 21:59 love - so our conclusions are going to have to support that 22:02 idea. 22:04 God can't be love and be a tyrant at the same time. 22:07 Nor can He be love and be so permissive that nothing 22:09 really matters and there are no consequences. 22:13 One key issue is that ultimately those who don't 22:15 choose Jesus Christ are going to be separated from Him 22:17 without the hope of everlasting life. 22:20 And wouldn't that be an enormous tragedy? 22:23 The Bible is pretty clear that there's a hell and that 22:26 some day lots of people are going to end up there. 22:29 But what kind of hell? 22:31 A no hell hell? 22:33 Well, that's not even a hell. 22:34 A hell that burns forever and ever and ever and ever? 22:38 Well, that would make God worse than Hitler. 22:41 And I know somebody said to me one day, well, God can do 22:43 that if he wanted to. 22:44 But the wonderful news is God doesn't want to. 22:47 And you know what? 22:48 We've got clear biblical evidence of that. 22:50 I'm reading from Ezekiel 28:18. 22:53 Therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of 22:55 thee. 22:56 It shall devour thee and I will bring thee to ashes upon 23:00 the earth in the sight of all them that behold you. 23:03 And you know what is so very interesting about that 23:05 passage? 23:06 It is that that passage, Ezekiel 28:18, is talking 23:09 about Satan. 23:11 The Bible says that God will turn Satan into ashes. 23:15 It can't get much clearer than that. 23:17 Then, Malachi 4:3, it says: "And you shall tread down the 23:22 wicked for they shall be ashes unto the soles of your 23:27 feet in the day that I shall do this sayeth the Lord of 23:30 hosts. 23:31 Now, I know somebody is going to say, no, but the Bible 23:33 says forever. 23:34 You know something? 23:35 The Bible says forever a lot about things that don't last 23:38 forever. 23:40 Jonas said he was in the belly of the fish forever, 23:42 three days and three nights. 23:44 Samuel was taken by his godly mother to be at the temple 23:47 forever. 23:48 Read that in 1 Samuel 1. 23:49 But then she said, six verses later in verse 28, that he'd 23:53 be at the temple for as long as he lived. 23:57 Forever as long as he lived. 23:59 Forever three days. 24:01 Hebrew slave. 24:02 He would serve as master forever, but they were often 24:04 released. 24:05 Forever in the context of hellfire simply means for as 24:08 long as the fire lasts, as long as the fire must burn to 24:12 do its work. 24:14 Thank God there is no burning, burning, eternally 24:18 burning, eternally burning hell. 24:20 Unfortunately, it's a myth, or should I say fortunately? 24:24 It's fortunate that it's not true. 24:26 But, it's unfortunate that so many people have been told it 24:29 is true. 24:31 The most wonderful news is that nobody needs to be lost 24:35 or burned in any kind of hell at all. 24:38 All of us can have everlasting life through 24:41 Jesus Christ, through simple faith in him, and I hope 24:45 you'll choose to have faith in Jesus One of the most 24:49 serious subjects in the Bible is the subject of hell and it 24:53 is one of the least understood. 24:55 What does the Bible really say about hell? 24:58 Is there a hell? 24:59 And if there is, how long will it burn? 25:02 You don't want to miss today's free offer: 25:04 Understanding Hell - Separating Fact from Fiction. 25:08 It's a practical, biblical look at a subject that has 25:11 puzzled a lot of people. 25:13 You'll be thrilled to understand just what God's 25:16 Word says about hell and what Jesus himself says on the 25:19 subject. 25:20 Just call of write and I'll send you this free book, 25:22 Understanding Hell. 25:24 You really ought to have this book, and there is absolutely 25:27 no cost to you and there's no obligation. 25:30 Just call 1.800.253.3000 and ask for the book 25:35 Understanding Hell. 25:36 You can call anytime, day or night. 25:39 If the line is busy, just keep trying. 25:41 You can also get this free book by writing to It Is 25:44 Written, Box O, Thousand Oaks, California, 91359. 25:48 We'll mail a copy to your address in North America, and 25:51 you can download a free electronic version of this 25:54 book, Understanding Hell, from our website, 25:57 itiswritten.com. 25:58 It Is Written can only exist through your support. 26:02 Thank you for sending your tax deductible gift, or you 26:07 can make a gift on line at itiswritten.com. 26:12 Thank you for your letters and for your continued 26:16 support. 26:17 And to get Understanding Hell, write to us or call 26:21 now: 1.800.253.3000. 26:23 I'd love to pray with you today. 26:25 Let's pray together. 26:26 Our Father in heaven, some subjects in the Bible we 26:29 wrestle with and when we find your will and your words, 26:33 sometimes we are challenged. 26:35 This whole idea of people being separated from you for 26:38 all eternity. 26:39 It's a challenging idea because it's so serious, it's 26:41 so final, it's so eternal. 26:43 Father in heaven, as I pray today, I pray that we today 26:47 would be committed to you. 26:48 Friend, would you choose Jesus today? 26:50 Would you do that? 26:51 Thank you, Father, that through faith in your son 26:54 Jesus Christ, we don't have to fear hellfire. 26:56 It's not something we even need to worry about. 26:59 I'm grateful Lord, that Jesus is our Deliver, our 27:03 deliverance. 27:04 Jesus is our Lord and our Savior. 27:07 We choose him today. 27:08 Friend, choose Jesus today. 27:10 Lord, we want to have faith in you. 27:12 We thank you for your Word. 27:14 We thank you for the gift of Salvation. 27:16 And, we pray in Jesus' name, Amen. 27:43 Thanks for joining me today and look forward 27:45 to see you next time, until then remember 27:47 "It is written Man shall not live by bread 27:49 alone, but by every word that proceeds from mouth of God." |
Revised 2015-02-05