Scared To Hell (By Leonard Lu Tze Jian)

Separation from God, it is indeed correct to fear hell, but not because of the pain it brings, but because it means eternal rejection from our true love.

Fearing God

            While talking to people about Christ, different comments often surface but there is one that I keep bugging me, even until today. I was at a youth camp once and a very smart brother-in-Christ (and I mean really smart) said this when I asked him about his faith, “It seems to me that people don’t actually believe in God. They are just afraid of going to hell. So is it about Christ, or about hell?”

            Is that why some Christians are backsliding? I thought. I obey God, so that He won’t send me to hell. Eventually, I feel like I am chained and bound unwillingly by God’s high demands. Naturally, I feel suffocated and vengeful. I’d find ways around His ways. In the end, I am in worse condition than I was before. Some Christians are worse than the non-Christians! And I believe this is one of the reasons why.

            Is fearing God the same as fearing hell? Is a true Christian not afraid of hell? Is fearing hell a wrong reason to turn to Christ? If there weren’t a hell, would I still believe in God? Please take time to think about his because it concerns the foundation on which we built our faith.

Hell, the place of unspeakable PAIN

            If you ask anyone about hell or why hell is such a scary place, they would probably tell you that it is a place of pain, particularly fire and worms. It is a pain that no other pain can compare. Not only that, it is FOREVER! Can you imagine suffering a pain so great that you want to die, but couldn’t because you already are?

            Is this really what hell is, unthinkable physical pain? If you were going to live eternally in pain, won’t it eventually feel numb? If I hit your hand once everyday, you would probably feel like a touch, rather than a stinging pain after the 100^th time. I believe people find hell an unbearable place because we cannot imagine ourselves suffering for the rest of our lives. But to those who are already living in suffering, would hell seem like a terrible place? If hell is just pain, then it means nothing to them.

The true price of Sin

            I believe God never intended us to fear hell because of suffering. Suffering is merely the punishment for your sins. We should fear hell because it is a place of eternity without God! (Doesn’t sound that scary, right?) Now imagine your spirit returning home, where it is supposed to be, only to be forbidden. And that’s where your soul is going to be eternally, unable to be where it is supposed to be. I know it’s hard to face unbearable pain, but don’ t you think eternal loneliness and rejection is worse?

             We tend to focus more on the physical side to God’s truth, rather than the spiritual because we are human. For instance, we say sin separates us from God. But we only repent after what sin does to us, such as unforgiveness, hatred, depression and pain. I am not saying this is wrong, I am only saying that these things are human. But what we ultimately have to remember in our walk with God is that all these physical things are only physical manifestations of what hell represents. Separation from God, it is indeed correct to fear hell, but not because of the pain it brings, but because it means eternal rejection from our true love.