It’s Not So Hard to Go To Hell

It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

In 1741, Jonathan Edwards preached his famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”

It’s 11 pages long - single spaced.

For scale, my sermons typed like his would run about 4 pages.

The report is he had poor eyesight, so he held the manuscript up and read it.

It wasn’t fire and brimstone, spit and holler preaching.

It was a reasoned man speaking the Word of God to a reasoning people.

Some who heard it claimed they could feel the fires of hell licking their feet.

Fast forward 238 years, a rock group named AC/DC released an iconic rock song, “Highway to Hell.”

Bet everyone in here has heard of it.

Recently one of my America’s Got Talent reels, a lady one year younger than me auditioned with this song.

She was good.

And the audience and the judges sang along with her.

“I’m on the Highway to hell

“Highway to hell.

We expect that from rock and rollers.

In fact, the song say, “Hey satan, Payin’ my dues, playin’ in a rockin’ band.”

“Livin’ easy, lovin’ free, season ticket on a one way ride.”

If you’ve heard the song, you know it’s masterful.

It is a hard charging, head banging rock and roll song.

But beyond the obvious, here’s the problem.

Today, 284 years away from Edward’s sermon, that song doesn’t bother us.

In fact, not much does bother us theologically.

We’ve really, seen it all, so many times, we aren’t affected by - anything.

Everyone’s going to heaven.

Hell is something your grandparents used to keep you scared.

Because God is love and love feels good.

I almost think we need to applaud satan for how masterfully he has deceived us.

C.S. Lewis has Screwtape tell Wormwood in the Screwtape Letters:

Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts…

Screwtape, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis

In the book of Hebrews, the temptation facing them is the same temptation facing us.

Taking Jesus at His Word and following Him devotedly is not easy.

Satan has convinced the world that God is love and love means accepting everyone just as they are.

There is no standard - there are only feelings.

My generation put the pedal to the medal with our phrase, “If it feels good, do it.”

It doesn’t feel good to be different from the world.

To stand up when creation order is denied.

To stand up when justice is perverted.

To stand up when the prevailing truth is very obviously a lie.

People don’t like you when you rock the boat.

We don’t like the pain that comes with rocking the boat.

The easiest, safest, most acceptable thing to do, is to roll with the flow.

Make Jesus noises

Do some Jesus things

But don’t stand for anything.

Our writer doesn’t use the term Highway to Hell.

He simply tells them, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Everyone please turn in your Bibles to Hebrews 10:26-31.

Kids, today’s message might be a little scary for us.

For you younger guys, I want you to remember that Jesus loves you very much and you don’t need to worry about this right now.

The three words on your worship guide to help you listen are Jesus, Lord and the word Good.

If everyone will take their Bibles open to Hebrews 10 and follow along with me.

Hear now the Word of the Lord from Hebrews 10:26-31

Hebrews 10:26–31 ESV

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Amen

Please join me in prayer:

Dear righteous Father,

Please be most real to all of us in this hour.

Holy Spirit, please don’t hold back - open our eyes to the flames of hell

And the glory of God.

In Jesus’ Name because He is our life, Amen.

Who is the preacher talking to?

This verse used to scare me when I was younger - it might still concern you.

When I was younger in the faith, I worried about this verse because I still sinned - still do actually

As do we all but I was a bit more deliberate.

I’ll not say much about my disco days as I’m afraid that image scarred some of you for life.

Look at the first part of verse 26 Hebrews 10:26 “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth

Another word for deliberately is intentionally - I’m doing what I’m doing on purpose.

I want to do it so I do.

That’s deliberate sin.

Well now, I had deliberate sin, so why doesn’t this verse scare me for me anymore?

It’s because of what the Holy Spirit has done in me.

Because the conviction of that sin never went away until I quit doing the sin.

I must have asked for forgiveness a thousand times because I knew what I was doing was wrong.

But by the mercy of God and the power of His Holy Spirit, He eventually convicted me enough to cause me to repent and change my behavior.

The faith placed in me by God was used by God to bring me to repentance so I would be changed.

That’s sanctification and all of us who are His go through the same process.

So this verse doesn’t scare me for me anymore - but it does scare me for others.

Remember that the preacher is speaking to a “religious” audience.

They had been good people all of their lives - they were good Jews doing good Jew things.

They followed the rules, they knew what sin was, they made their sacrifices.

Then they learned about Jesus and His way seemed better

So they started following that way.

But then things got hard for Christians

The world around them changed and what once made them good, now just made them odd

And maybe even an enemy.

Nobody wants that so they were ready to bolt.

Nobody was mad at the Jews - I’ll just go back to that

I’ll still be a good person and the Lord will understand.

Now I know you are thinking, how can a Christian who is really a Christian stop being a Christian.

And the answer is, they can’t.

So how did they fall away, right?

Look at the phrase “after receiving the knowledge of the truth.”

We have to go back to something I have been saying to us for more than 11 years.

Knowledge is not faith.

You can know that an airplane can fly.

You can know everything there is to know about aerodynamics and lift and thrust and you know that you know that you know that an airplane can fly.

But if you will not get on an airplane, you don’t have faith.

You simply have intelligence.

And this is why this scripture scares me so very badly.

Our country is in the state because a lot of people knew a lot of things about Jesus.

They were told if they believed Jesus was born, died, and was raised by God

And if they would pray a simple prayer and get baptized, they would be saved.

Now there were some fairly convenient rules to follow.

Try to follow the 10 commandments.

Come to church regularly.

Give some of your money to the church.

Read your Bible at least at church and pray on occasion.

Maybe serve on some service team, maybe be a teacher or a Deacon

That’s enough evidence - you are on the team.

Let me ask you an honest question and you give it some honest thought.

Does a single thing I just mentioned require any action of God to happen?

Well, the Jesus being born, crucified and resurrected does, but you knowing it doesn’t.

None of those things require the Lord to do anything.

It’s all you.

What really scares me is that so many people in America, in our churches, in the five churches I’ve served

Have had that kind of knowledge - it’s not faith although we call it faith

It’s not.

Faith causes a personality change.

Many people have simply had a behavioral change.

It makes them feel good to do these things.

Just like the Hebrews going back to their old ways.

I feel like a good person when I do that.

And you are good, but are you saved?

What happens to the person who had knowledge but no faith?

Hebrews 10:26 “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,”

There is no hope for them - now listen - if they continue as they are.

“If we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth…”

If what we hear makes no difference in who we are, there is no hope and the clock can run out.

Remember we said that the Book of Hebrews leans a lot of the book of Exodus.

Do you remember the plagues?

For the first five plagues, the Bible says Pharaoh hardened his heart - he wouldn’t listen to the Lord.

On the sixth plague, the Bible says God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.

On the seventh plague, it appears the Lord gave Pharaoh one more chance, but he hardened his own heart.

From then on, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.

Or, as the Pastor says in Hebrews, “there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.”

But Pastor Randy, I’ve been taught that everyone has a chance to be saved until the moment they die.

Yeah, you’ve been taught wrong.

“There no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.

Time can run out for some folks.

Hebrews 10:27 “but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.”

Let’s look at the words.

We’ve read these words until they are soft and don’t scare us, but they should.

Fearful means terrible, frightful.

Pastor Randy, we aren’t supposed to be afraid

Yes, if you are not saved, this Pastor is telling you exactly what you should expect when your life is done.

You should have a terrible expectation of judgment.

Expect it.

Know that it is coming.

It’s a certain as rain when black clouds, wind, lightning and thunder are blowing towards you.

You will be judged and you will be judged by God justly.

You will get exactly what the Lord says, “a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.”

Fury is an interesting word.

We think of someone furious - full of fury - as exceedingly angry to the point of being almost out of control.

But the Lord here is not out of control.

No, this word shows us a God who is enthusiastic to prove His justice is pure.

Those who rebel will get what they should expect

And God’s church will see God’s justice for their suffering.

See the word consume - it literally means eat

“a fury of fire that will eat the adversaries.”

I’ll spare you the descriptions but the movies have been pretty graphic in their depictions of things such as this.

Oh, and the word adversarry.

It’s a compound word made up of three words that basically say, “in place of” or “undermining.”

Those who do not give up their lives to Jesus literally spend their entire lives living in place of Jesus.

They are undermining His authority by being the authority themselves.

There is only one way this can end for them.

So now, here’s another question

On what basis does the Lord make His judgment?

The Pastor lightens up a little bit and takes us back to Deuteronomy 17.

You can look that up later, but basically it says what the Pastor just said

Hebrews 10:28 “Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.”

He’s laying down a principle of God here - that’s a way the Lord made sure justice was served.

A person would never be condemned on the basis of one witness only.

People lie - that wouldn’t be fair.

But if two or three people observed the same thing - I mean, think about this.

In Matthew 18, Jesus tells us that if someone sins against us, go to them.

If they won’t repent, then take one or two others with you

And if they still won’t repent, then take it to the church.

If they still won’t repent, excommunicate them.

That sounds harsh to our ears, but it’s how God operates

You can’t excommunicate someone except on the basis of two or three witnesses.

So we need two or three witnesses to condemn the unbeliever to hell if the Lord is true to His nature.

Look at Hebrews 10:29 “How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?”

Now follow me here

How much worse punishment - referring back to Deuteronomy 17, the transgressor got stoned to death because they worshipped idols.

How much worse punishment does someone deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God?

Now I look at this as a dad.

Who sent Jesus?

His Father.

And you trampled my Son to death?

I sent you my Son to lead you to the promised land, and you trampled Him to death?

The Father is the first witness.

“How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has… profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified?

What did Jesus say when He inaugurated the Lord’s supper?

Matthew 26:28 ESV

for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus blood which He spilled so you could be forgiven of your sins.

Jesus blood which He willingly shed so you could be made new.

And you profaned it by declaring yourself His equal to Jesus’ blood

That your plan for your life could equal the plan that God has for your life?

Jesus is the second witness.

“How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has “outraged the Spirit of grace.”

The word outrage means to damage, to insult.

You who have made yourself equal to God, who has put yourself in the place of Jesus in your life

Has insulted the Holy Spirit because you have called His testimony a lie.

What was His testimony?

John 15:26 ESV

“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

The Holy Spirit bears witness to us that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God

And you dare to insult Him by claiming yourself as your savior?

Witness number three is the Holy Spirit.

On the testimony of two or three human witnesses, a person can be condemned to death.

On the testimony of the Holy Trinity, a person can be condemned to the fires of hell forever.

The Lord is true to Himself.

Verse 30 is a straight up statement of fact pulled from the Old Testament again.

Hebrews 10:30 “For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.””

The Lord, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit will bear witness and Jesus will give them their final punishment.

I like the word repay - it means to pay you back.

“I will pay you back for all of the things you did to my people and to me.”

“You trampled my salvation under your feet.

“You claimed my blood could do nothing for you.

“You insulted my message of mercy and grace.

“I am here to avenge my people and uphold my honor.”

Hebrews 10:31 ESV

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Fearful doesn’t really resonate in our ears.

But the word means terrible - that means more

And the word means frightful - which means even more.

Eugene Peterson in the Message translation of the Bible ends this section with these words.

“Nobody’s getting by with anything, believe me.”

What do we do now?

The Holy Spirit included this passage just like it is written to scare someone into looking in the mirror.

When you do, what do you see?

Can you say truthfully, that Jesus is the Lord of your life, that you can see the fruits of Jesus coming out of you at unexpected times and unexpected places?

Can you say that Jesus is your life?

If that’s the man or woman you see in the mirror, praise God for Jesus and His blood and His gospel.

But if you see someone who is very adept at being a good person.

You’ve done all of the right things to be considered good

And sure, sure, Jesus died on a cross and rose again, that’s why I come to Easter services.

But you can’t see Jesus coming out of you at unexpected times or unexpected places?

You can deliberately do things that you know are ungodly and have little to no conscience pangs at all.

Or you can say, “I have enough Jesus in my life. I don’t need to go overboard.”

Dear Friend, if that is you - overboard is the least of your worries.

The flames of hell will eat at your flesh for all eternity for taking the place of Jesus in your own life.

Romans 10:8–11 ESV

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

You must have faith.

You can know all of the answers in the world and be condemned by God to hell.

But if you take that knowledge, and plead with Jesus to save you, and abandon your life to Him, He will save you.

Jesus came to live a perfect life, to die and be raised to new life by the power of God

So that you and I could see how we need to be rescued.

John 3:16–18 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

The only thing I know you need in your life is Jesus.

I’ll pray and we’ll sing.

And while we are singing, if your heart is about to burst, come talk to me - right now.

Let us pray.