What if I'm just scared of hell?

faithliness said:

What if I am Christian mainly because I'm scared to go to hell?

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Then you're Christian mainly because you're scared to go to Hell. Walk the walk and you won't go to Hell. Problem solved!

faithliness said:

I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my recent attitude and feelings toward my Christian walk and something very worrying occurred to me. I've found that my main motivation for doing anything that I do (praying, going to church, staying clear of temptation) is fueled by my fear of eternal damnation.

I don't know if anyone else goes through this, but it is scary. What if I am Christian mainly because I'm scared to go to hell?

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Some people believe because they hope for miracles. There are many testimonies of people who have been delivered from all sorts of illnesses and adversity by the power of God.

1 John 4:18 (WEB) There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.

Paul risked execution during his Gospel ministry. He suffered poverty, homelessness, arrests and beatings. Paul knew the Law was imperfect; the works of Christ were greater. One day Paul victoriously wrote:

1 Corinthians 15:55 (KJV) O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

dqhall said:

Some people believe because they hope for miracles. There are many testimonies of people who have been delivered from all sorts of illnesses and adversity by the power of God.

1 John 4:18 (WEB) There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.

Paul risked execution during his Gospel ministry. He suffered poverty, homelessness, arrests and beatings. Paul knew the Law was imperfect; the works of Christ were greater. One day Paul victoriously wrote:

1 Corinthians 15:55 (KJV) O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

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faithliness said:

I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my recent attitude and feelings toward my Christian walk and something very worrying occurred to me. I've found that my main motivation for doing anything that I do (praying, going to church, staying clear of temptation) is fueled by my fear of eternal damnation.

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This is a problem, to be sure. How can you obey the First and Great Commandment, which is to love God with all of your being (Matt. 22:36-38), when you are motivated by fear? "He who fears has not been made perfect in love," the apostle John wrote (1 Jn. 4:18). The apostle Paul wrote that all that we might say, or all the knowledge we might work to possess, or all we might do as believers is utterly spiritually useless if not arising out of a love for God and others. (1 Cor. 13:1-3) The Gospel properly understood should lead you inevitably to love and joy, not fearful self-preservation. When the apostle John wrote of those who had been saved, he described them as follows:

1 John 4:15-16
15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

Love is "ground zero" for the Christian life. It is to be the fundamental motivator for all Christian living.

Fear of hell appeals to a person's self-centeredness. Why does a man fear hell? Because he loves himself and wants to protect himself from harm. Christ, however, taught that life as one of his disciples was a life of death to Self (Matt. 16:24-26). For some believers, this has meant literal physical death. It is only love - love for God - the can properly compel us into such a life. When we love God, dying to Self is a joy, not an onerous duty; when we love God, Self-sacrifice is natural and inevitable, not torturous and exhausting. Again, love, godly love, is the ground out of which all other obedience ought to arise. When it isn't, legalism, hypocrisy, and selfishness are the result.

How do you come to love God?

1.) Correctly understand the Gospel.
2.) Surrender yourself to God moment-by-moment through every day that the flow of His love into your heart may continue and expand unimpeded.
3.) Keep short accounts with God.

faithliness said:

I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my recent attitude and feelings toward my Christian walk and something very worrying occurred to me. I've found that my main motivation for doing anything that I do (praying, going to church, staying clear of temptation) is fueled by my fear of eternal damnation.

I don't know if anyone else goes through this, but it is scary. What if I am Christian mainly because I'm scared to go to hell?

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you are on the right track brother, being honest with yourself is a healthy thing. Intention is everything under new testament. Its never about what we do but WHY we do it. God will meet you in your honesty, just go to Him about it and tell Him directly about how you feel and ask Him to help you to love Him. Just don't beat yourself up, this is a good thing, most believers haven't reached that maturity level of being honest with themselves, you are in a good place brother.

faithliness said:

I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my recent attitude and feelings toward my Christian walk and something very worrying occurred to me. I've found that my main motivation for doing anything that I do (praying, going to church, staying clear of temptation) is fueled by my fear of eternal damnation.

I don't know if anyone else goes through this, but it is scary. What if I am Christian mainly because I'm scared to go to hell?

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burn or turn evangelism I think misses the point when it becomes the dominant focus. The dominant focus should be Christ. the gospel according to John 3:16 God loves the world and if we believe in him we will not perish but have eternal life. First the emphasis is on God's love and faith in him, then comes the reward. It does not start with the punishment and say if you don't want this then come to Christ. However it's difficult not to take that verse and say a part of the motivation to believe is so we should not perish. Fear of hell is a inherent part of the make of the gospel and contributes to attractional quality of Christ because he is our saviour. It's not a system were a fear based system is emphasised but we would be remiss to say it doesn't happen in the gospels.

If you have honestly accept Christ as you personal Lord and Savior . Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge .
Consentrate on Christ and Salvation . If you are saved then Hell is not your inheritance.

Benaiahian Monk said:

If you have honestly accept Christ as you personal Lord and Savior . Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge .
Consentrate on Christ and Salvation . If you are saved then Hell is not your inheritance.

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By fear, do you mean being afraid of? because this is the fear the OP discusses.

HereIStand said:

That's a good secondary motivation. If we stop fearing hell, we stop fearing God, as a pastor once told me. Our primary focus though should be on the assurance, which God wants us to have. And serving Him in gratitude.

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Very good response, Jesus himself said, "Fear Him who can kill your body and then throw your soul into hell." The two go hand in hand

Heart2Soul said:

You can pray and ask God to open you ears to hear....the Bible says
John 10:27 New King James Version (NKJV)
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

So by His Word you hear His voice....Like I said He has been talking to you, so now I pray your ears will be tuned in! Amen!

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Great verse; with this and others prayerfully received with care, can be a comfort and a strength.

John 14.1-27 and Psalm 46 can be strengthening and comforting passages for the believer.

faithliness said:

I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my recent attitude and feelings toward my Christian walk and something very worrying occurred to me. I've found that my main motivation for doing anything that I do (praying, going to church, staying clear of temptation) is fueled by my fear of eternal damnation.

I don't know if anyone else goes through this, but it is scary. What if I am Christian mainly because I'm scared to go to hell?

Click to expand...

If you are born again you are going to heaven , usually people who dubt have recently commited sin and it makes them dubt thier salvation.

Do it once and then just remind yourself about it .

Romans 10:13
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.


Every time you have dubts just remember that you have alredy called on name of Jesus .

faithliness said:

I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my recent attitude and feelings toward my Christian walk and something very worrying occurred to me. I've found that my main motivation for doing anything that I do (praying, going to church, staying clear of temptation) is fueled by my fear of eternal damnation.

I don't know if anyone else goes through this, but it is scary. What if I am Christian mainly because I'm scared to go to hell?

Click to expand...

It's good to fear the Lord, but after you are saved we don't fear Him in the sense that He always has His finger hovering over a button to dump you in hell. Here is the scripture:

1 John 4:8

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love.

Before you were a sinner that deserved Gods wrath. When Christ saves you, you are an adopted child with the righteousness of Christ because of your faith. With the Holy Spirit indwelling you, you are no longer an object of Gods righteous wrath towards sin. You have been cleansed and purified, and daily are being remade in the image of Jesus Christ.

It could be a trust issue. Do you really believe everything I just wrote applies to you?

faithliness said:

I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my recent attitude and feelings toward my Christian walk and something very worrying occurred to me. I've found that my main motivation for doing anything that I do (praying, going to church, staying clear of temptation) is fueled by my fear of eternal damnation.

I don't know if anyone else goes through this, but it is scary. What if I am Christian mainly because I'm scared to go to hell?

Click to expand...

Just remember it is amazing and, especially to us human beings, most gratifying to see such Godly constructions such as heaven appear as if by magic.

I have never been afraid of hell. I'm grateful that no one scared me into saying, "I believe."

1 John 4
10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.12No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

1 John 4
18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

thesunisout said:

It's good to fear the Lord, but after you are saved we don't fear Him in the sense that He always has His finger hovering over a button to dump you in hell. Here is the scripture:

1 John 4:8

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love.

Before you were a sinner that deserved Gods wrath. When Christ saves you, you are an adopted child with the righteousness of Christ because of your faith. With the Holy Spirit indwelling you, you are no longer an object of Gods righteous wrath towards sin. You have been cleansed and purified, and daily are being remade in the image of Jesus Christ.

It could be a trust issue. Do you really believe everything I just wrote applies to you?

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Oh, praise God! I didn't read your answer before mine. It's so awesome when the Holy Spirit nudges us!

faithliness said:

What if I am Christian mainly because I'm scared to go to hell?

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I felt the same long time ago. I was tormented by this kind of thoughts. Then I accidentaly came across a wonderful book by Everest John Alexander about the levels of salvation. If you want to know more feel free to PM me.

faithliness said:

I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my recent attitude and feelings toward my Christian walk and something very worrying occurred to me. I've found that my main motivation for doing anything that I do (praying, going to church, staying clear of temptation) is fueled by my fear of eternal damnation.

I don't know if anyone else goes through this, but it is scary. What if I am Christian mainly because I'm scared to go to hell?

Click to expand...

Trust in God and live life one day at a time.

Johnny4ChristJesus said:

I would question if you are really born again. I don't think someone walking in a relationship with God is fueled by fear. Fear of the future maybe a motivator to come to Him. But, once someone gets to know Him, Love should take over and be your motivation.

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When someone is raised in a church that preaches hell, fire, and brimstone as a way to get people to receive salvation (as I was when I was a child), without being taught Grace...then it does distort a new believers understanding of salvation....I believe this person is born again, they are just struggling understanding Grace.
To say that you question if they are really born again is part of the reason so many people struggle with Christianity. More condemnation, more bondage to the lies of satan....SMH.