Why Isn't There More Preaching On Hell?

I was just listening to [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laruFiU8uqg] this video[/url] and wondering why there isn't more preaching on hell. Jesus spoke about hell often. To me when I hear preaching about hell I am not only reminded how bad hell is but it reminds me of how HOLY God is. He is so holy that hell is necessary. I don't mean that there has to constantly be sermons on hell but you really don't hear much spoken about hell.

I was just listening to this video and wondering why there isn't more preaching on hell.

When most people think of preaching about hell they think of scaring people into getting saved. Their is so much more to preaching about hell than scaring people.My husband and I were discussing that this morning. If God wanted to He could just allow man to die like a dog and not have to answer for his actions, he could just cease to exist but God is so holy that sin has to be punished in such a manner that it is beyond our comprehension. We can only imagine what hell is like. The puritan's spoke alot about hell. It was like something that you should nail to your door post as a constant reminder that God doesn't think your sin is cute as you do. Not only is there a hell but who can imagine the kind of judgement that is going to come on this earth in the book of Revelation? Can you imagine hail the size of a boulder?

This is not the kind of God that winks at sin. Preaching about hell should not be meant to cause you to walk in terror as a christian but it should put a healthy fear of God in you. By a healthy fear of God I mean that we should simply recognize that this is the way God feels about sin and so should we.

Jesus said "if your right eye offend you pluck it out". An eye is something that is dear to you. The reason that I believe he used the eye as an example is because for some people their sin is as dear to them as that eye is. If you really saw sin the way that God does you would treat it like some fatal hideous plague.

Fuegodedios wrote:
Rebecca thanks for posting this. This is a sad reality today. Hell is a forgotten realm by men but its a realm that does not forget men.

Isaiah 5:14-15
Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself
And opened its mouth beyond measure;
Their glory and their multitude and their pomp,
And he who is jubilant, shall descend into it.
15 People shall be brought down,
Each man shall be humbled,
And the eyes of the lofty shall be humble.

I really think that the modern day seeker sensitive/prosperity movement has done a great harm to true biblical preaching. people have not just forgot about hell they have forgotten about preaching on sin and salvation from sin. But I believe that God is faithful and that he will bring people up who will preach an uncompromising message to the world.

Amen, it's so good to hear about brother Greg, preaching on hell. I would love to hear that message.

While I was out driving today the police were conducting a sting operation busting speeders at the school crossing zones. I don't even like driving that way while this is going on. It's very unnerving thinking about getting a ticket even if you are obeying the laws. They get on their walkies and alert each other and off they go to issue a ticket. I've never seen so many people pulled over at one time. Now they have these cameras at the traffic lights and I think one week they issued three thousand tickets.

How shocking it must be to get that ticket in the mail. Can you imagine if you had to pay for that ticket everyday for the rest of your life and that's just a traffic ticket.

I don't think we as christains should be walking in terror though but just have a healthy fear of God. Police officers can mess up and bust the wrong person but God is perfect and just. I want to have a healthy fear of God. If you have an unhealthy fear of Him that paralizes you than you might want to reexamine your theology.

God just wants us to hate sin just as He hates sin.

Mangan wrote:
You wrote:
why there isn't more preaching on hell. Jesus spoke about hell often.

I think the answer is
*that a lof of people just dont believe that a good God would send anyone to hell;
*people think of hell as a primitive thought not suitable for todays rational mind
*Liberal theologians suggests that the words of Jesus on hell is not his words but the authors of the gospels (i.e. the early church);

the list can go on .....

Magnus ;-)

Amen, I think we often forget that God is a consuming fire. I don't think that there is enough teaching on the character and essence of who God is. We are taught that God hates sin and so should we and that is the extent of it and that is really not good enough, it needs to go much deeper than that. This is not something that we should think about once in awhile and I am not just speaking of literal hell. We need to have a revelation of the awesomeness and holiness of God and it is something that should be ingrained in our conscience on a constant daily basis throughout our day.

I must be touching on something here because my phone keeps ringing.:-)

Deuteronomy 4:24
For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.

Deuteronomy 9:3
Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee.

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

[b]Preaching The Truth by Brian Brodersen[/b]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J05684R9bvE

HeartSong wrote:

Rebecca wrote:
While I was out driving today the police were conducting a sting operation busting speeders at the school crossing zones. I don't even like driving that way while this is going on. It's very unnerving thinking about getting a ticket even if you are obeying the laws. They get on their walkies and alert each other and off they go to issue a ticket. I've never seen so many people pulled over at one time. Now they have these cameras at the traffic lights and I think one week they issued three thousand tickets. How shocking it must be to get that ticket in the mail. Can you imagine if you had to pay for that ticket everyday for the rest of your life and that's just a traffic ticket.

When I was growing up, there was a person in my life that always talked of the wrath of God. It was as if she thought that God was out to get her. I remember, as a child, trying to convince her that God wasn't really that way, and that He loved her. The whole thing really befuddled me. Today she is a very bitter woman and views God as always trying to trap her - she even thinks that He laughs when when He trips her up.

It causes my heart much sorrow to see this, and then to hear of hell, and at the same time know how much that God truly loves His children.

It is essential that these things be done in the Spirit - for only He can bring forth the proper balance. Only He can properly divide the one from the other. To preach of such things without His leading could build walls that may never be broken down.

I am not saying that we should not preach on hell. I am only trying to say that we should tremble when we do for our words could serve to produce the very thing that we are trying to prevent.

I agree with you that it does need to be done in the spirit.

I don't think that we can teach on who God is and also leave out His hatred for sin to the point of sending multitudes to hell for it.

There needs to be an [b]awareness.[/b] The only way to have this awareness is to simply be aware. I don't really think we are aware to the point that we need to be but it is an everlearning process as with anything.

sermonindex wrote:

[b]Preaching The Truth by Brian Brodersen[/b]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J05684R9bvE

That's good thanks, Greg. He's right there is too much preaching that doesn't do anything. When you meet God your changed, [b]always[/b]. Even at the judgement seat of Christ [b]every[/b] knee will bow. How much more are christians changed when we have an awareness of God.

Lysa wrote:
The sermons I heard was light on righteousness heavy on "if you sin - you're going to hell;" never mind that they believed in OSAS and they had seen me down there 20 times at the altar!! And when someone asks about why people don't preach on hell anymore - I immediately go back in time to those days of using fear tactics to get people to the altar. Right or wrong, that is what I remember.

I may have misrepresented the man I was saved under; just so you know, he never withheld the hard truth in order to make a nice sweet sermon; nope, never. He had many "woe unto you" sermons without the fear tactics on hell.

I hope that helps my position, probably not, but hopefully!!

I beleive what you experienced here was probably a imbalanced sermon on hell. Their isn't just one side to God's character which is my point totally. It's the consuming fire characteristic of God that is being left out.

Proverbs 11
1A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.

Take this verse for example. Do we really believe a false balance is an abomination? You could say yes, because you believe every word that the bible says is true but is it really true to you? It's not just a matter of it is because the bible says so but it is because it is. That's what I mean by an awareness.

BenBrockway wrote:
I agree. There isn't very much preaching on it.

Living the Christian life is all about butterflies and roses. Hell is not a happy place. That is why we must live for today, as if we died tomorrow, doing as many things as we can that make us happy. You know... living your best life now!!

:-(

That's for sure. A false balance is indeed an abomination and the more the abominable to us the better and hopefully the increasingly more the abominable. May it become more abominable still in my life.