Are you afraid of going to Hell?

[DivineD]

Every since I renewed my faith in God and Jesus, I can't stop thinking about it. I also can't stop thinking about everyone else either and about how they are likely going to hell. Am I alone in this?

No you are not. Hell is a scary place. It's eternal torment and it should remind us to remain firm in Christ everyday. And the sad truth is there will be a lot more ppl going into hell than heaven. We must strive to stay on the narrow path everyday, because wide is the gate to death and destruction and very deceptive.

It's good to reflect on, because nowadays it's something hardly ever talked about or extremely sugarcoated. Which to me is another of Satan's deceits.

 

[sturgeonslawyer]

If you're not afraid of it, you are smug like the Pharisees.

Paul tells us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, because God is working in us. If we were worthy of this there would be no need for salvation, or for fear and trembling; but we are not. Hell is what we each deserve.

Fortunately, "With God all things are possible."

I actually don't spend much time worrying about myself in Hell. I know it's what I deserve, so if I wind up there, I may moan and weep but I won't complain. I worry more about those I love who don't know it and who aren't willing to learn.

 

[jackthejesusfreak]

Every since I renewed my faith in God and Jesus, I can't stop thinking about it. I also can't stop thinking about everyone else either and about how they are likely going to hell. Am I alone in this?

You can know that you know you'received saved. Yes, it's more than just a prayer and shame on the churches that aren't preaching messages about salvation. If you are truly saved you will know by the way the HS interacts with your spirit and soul.

 

[GrammyJ]

No, I have been that way too. In fact, I've been totally paralyzed by the fear of it. Finally i just had to say if I'm going there I'm going there and making myself miserable in the here and now isn't going to change it.

I tried to push it as far from my mind as possible and only use it if i feel like it could be useful in changing my behavior.

How sad that you have no assurance of your salvation! I had to leave Adventism to find that blessed assurance! You need to know that you cannot behave your way into being saved. If you are born into Christ and trusting ONLY in Him for salvation, your eternal destiny is sealed. No more worries about ending up in Hell!

 

[eternity75]

For those of you who say you have no fear of hell because you are secure in Christ's promise of salvation, how do you reconcile that promise of salvation with the scriptures that follow? We spend a lot of time focusing on John 3:16, but the same focus doesn't seem to be on scriptures following that such as "if you love me you will obey my commands" and Peter's instruction that believers must repent and be baptized to receive the Holy Spirit? What about where Jesus says in Matthew 7:21-23 " “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’"

I think for many who are terrified of hell, it is these scriptures which raise question or doubts for those who are believers. If you believe, you will desire to please God. You cannot please God unless you obey his commands. "Thou shalt love the Lord they God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

So how can you be so confident and sure you that you are for sure saved and that you will not be one of the ones who is sure they are saved and then have Christ say "depart from me I never knew you"?

I only wish I could have the confidence of those here who say they have no fear of hell, that they are sure they are saved.

 

[surrender1]

Every since I renewed my faith in God and Jesus, I can't stop thinking about it. I also can't stop thinking about everyone else either and about how they are likely going to hell. Am I alone in this?

There is no torture chamber called hell. That came from the mind of man, not from the mind of God.

 

[DivineD]

There is no torture chamber called hell. That came from the mind of man, not from the mind of God.

That's ironic, because it seems your lie is coming from your mind and not the mind of God.
Jesus states: "If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.46 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where
“ ‘the worms that eat them do not die,
and the fire is not quenched.’" - Mark 9:43-48
You should read the Bible, especially the Gospels and wake up from that deceit.

 

[Kutte]

There is no torture chamber called hell. That came from the mind of man, not from the mind of God.

Well said surrender1.
Besides, hell is not a place, but a state of the mind.
God bless

 

[Sanoy]

I have thought of this from a different perspective. Imagine you were somehow ineligible for heaven. How would that change the way you lead your life? Would you do evil things or would you continue to do/try-to-do what is right because you love what is right. If you were somehow irrevocably damned to hell would you still pray "Thy kingdom come?"

Think about growing your love for what is right instead of thinking about your failures in life. Things like Love, Justice, Mercy etc refers to God's nature. To love what is right because it is right is to love God. So when you love what is right you also love God. Don't focus on your success in being a good-enough person, focus on your love for what is right.

If you can say "Thy kingdom come" despite your sinful condition, then you love God. If you are fearful of hell and can earnestly pray that prayer then you love God more than your own fate. It is not a small matter to say "Lord even if I am found guilty, Thy Kingdom Come!"

 

[marineimaging]

Every since I renewed my faith in God and Jesus, I can't stop thinking about it. I also can't stop thinking about everyone else either and about how they are likely going to hell. Am I alone in this?

No, you are not alone and no, I am not afraid of hell. I do hurt inside for those who will because they refuse to believe. But, consider those who were in the time of Noah and who mocked him for following God. And what about those who lived in Sodom and Gomorrha. No, not one. They ALL perished except for Abraham's nephew, Lot and his two daughters. And their souls? Where are they?

 

[surrender1]

That's ironic, because it seems your lie is coming from your mind and not the mind of God.
Jesus states: "If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.46 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where
“ ‘the worms that eat them do not die,
and the fire is not quenched.’" - Mark 9:43-48
You should read the Bible, especially the Gospels and wake up from that deceit.

My goodness your comment to me is dripping with such charity. Perhaps you are just a fan of Jesus and not a follower. Anyway, the word Jesus uses is not hell. The word is the Valley of Hinnom or Gehenna.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

There is no torture chamber called hell. That came from the mind of man, not from the mind of God.

There are enough nightmare scenarios just living on this earth without imagining eternal flames. Just being stuck in a room with a person you cant stand, sounds like Hell to me.

 

[surrender1]

John the Baptist’s preaching consisted of announcements of an *imminent* (“who warned you to flee from the wrath to come” Lk. 3:7 and “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees” Mt. 3:10, Lk. 3:9) fiery judgment (cf. Mt. 3:12 “unquenchable fire”) on Israel if she didn’t repent. That *imminent* fire was the fire that came upon Jerusalem in AD 70. See also Luke 12:56 where Jesus warns of the imminent crisis to come upon that generation.

*Gehenna* is commonly translated “hell.” Gehenna is derived from a valley nearby Jerusalem that originally belonged to a man named Hinnom. “This was a valley near Jerusalem, and appears to have held this name perhaps as far back as the time of Joshua. This valley was used by the more idolatrous kings of Judah as a place where they would sacrifice their own children to the god Moloch. It may also have been the location where, in a single night, the Messenger of Yahweh killed a massive number of Assyrians from the army of Sennacherib. Going from there, it was traditionally associated with the location Isaiah refers to in his final chapter ('they shall go out' implies exiting Jerusalem into the valley), where dead bodies are devoured by unquenchable fire (i.e. fire that does not stop burning until it has completely consumed everything in its path) and undying worms (i.e. the maggots that unceasingly feast upon corpses). In ancient Aramaic translations of this chapter of Isaiah, the dead bodies are explicitly stated to be in the Valley of Hinnom, where the wicked suffered the 'second death'. Jesus confirms the traditional association by describing the Valley of Hinnom in the same way Isaiah describes the location filled with unquenchable fire and maggots. The Valley of Hinnom is only ever used by Jesus (with a single, extraneous usage by James) when speaking to his fellow Jews. He uses it especially when warning them about sinning unrepentantly. Jesus uses the Valley of Hinnom because it had become a common symbol for God's divine punishment. In this sense, it is analogous to the lake of fire (especially since both are referred to as the 'second death'). According to Jesus, God is able to destroy both body and soul in the Valley of Hinnom.” (“The History of Hell” by Mark Edward). See Joshua 18:16, 2 Kings 23:10 and 2 Chron. 33:6. I’d like to emphasize Luke 12:5 where it states that after God has killed the wicked ones, He has authority to cast the wicked dead into “hell” (actually, Gehenna), which is why it is called the “second death”—the dead body goes through a second death in the unquenchable fire that devours the dead body until it has been completely consumed.

So to the Jews, the Valley of Hinnom (aka Gehenna) came to mean a place of burning and fiery judgment. Josephus indicates that that very same valley was heaped with dead bodies of the Jews following the Roman siege of Jerusalem AD 70.

There are twelve passages with the use of *Gehenna*. The first occurrence of the word *Gehenna* is in Mt. 5:21-22 in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus warns, “…and whosoever shall say, ‘Thou fool’ shall be in danger of the hell of fire.” When Jesus’ audience heard his use of this word, what came to mind was the Valley of Hinnom, the place of burning and fiery judgment where Yahweh had slaughtered the wicked Assyrians, where Isaiah said the dead bodies of the wicked are devoured by unquenchable fire and undying worms, where the dead bodies of the wicked undergo the “second death.” The other nine passages where Jesus uses the word *Gehenna* are found in Mt. 5:29-30, 10:28, 18:9, Mk. 9:43-45, 23:15, and Lk. 12:4-5. In all, Jesus is speaking to and warning the unrepentant Jews of his generation of what is to come if they do not repent and believe his words.

The eleventh occurrence is in Mt. 23:33 and just three verses later Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation.” Again, this speaks to the imminency of the judgment to come (which included the idea of being thrown into “hell” [actually, Gehenna] upon their death & experiencing the “second death”) upon that generation if they did not repent.

The twelfth and last time the word *Gehenna* is used is found in James 3:6. It’s interesting to note that James uses the word in a very similar context as the first time the word was used: misuse of the tongue. Jesus condemns one who curses another with the tongue and James condemns misuse of the tongue: “…out of the same mouth cometh forth blessing and cursing.”

As previously mentioned, the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) is only ever used by Jesus (with the one exception by James) when speaking to his fellow Jews because it had become a common symbol for God's divine punishment, and the nation to which Jesus spoke was about to endure a fiery judgment in their lifetime (i.e. generation). Even in James when he uses the word, he warns of the coming slaughter (Jas. 5:5), the coming of the Lord (Jas. 5:8), and that the judge stands before the door (Jas. 5:9). Jesus was “standing at the door”! Divine judgment was about to come upon these very people, this nation. And the warning of being "cast into the fires of Gehanna" was used with these people specifically because they knew exactly what Jesus meant by it: national judgment is coming.

 

[surrender1]

And the sad truth is there will be a lot more ppl going into hell than heaven.

We go on and on about how victorious God is. How is King of Kings and Lord of Lords victorious if he loses the majority of his people? Sounds like a major loss; not a triumphant win.

 

[Copperhead]

I am not afraid of going to Hell. I know in whom I have placed my trust that He is faithful to preserve me. Else, He is a liar and it all really doesn't mean anything anyway. There is something that is a part of human nature that feels we have to do something to make salvation complete, and that we are always one step from losing salvation. That is why there are so many religions in the world all claiming the way to make oneself worthy of something. We never can make ourselves worthy. Only Jesus can. And His atonement is complete. No one can add a thing to it without insulting God.

While we may be surprised in who doesn't make it to heaven, we most likely will be more surprised at who is there when we show up.

 

[Butch5]

Every since I renewed my faith in God and Jesus, I can't stop thinking about it. I also can't stop thinking about everyone else either and about how they are likely going to hell. Am I alone in this?

The English concept of Hell, a place of eternal torment, isn't a Biblical concept. It comes from mythology.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

I'm afraid of Heaven being full of people who are so proud of getting there.
"Give me 5 bro, yea. I made it!"
That would get old after a while.

 

[Zoii]

I differ from a lot of views here. I dont believe in hell. I do not believe there's a place with fire etc. To me its a very unsophisticated and primitive view of spirituality.

In the same way i dont see heaven as some wonderful place with gardens and harps and a place of beauty.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

For some people their life is Hell right now on Earth. So it is harder to scare them that there is a worse place to go after they die.

 

[ToBeLoved]

For those of you who say you have no fear of hell because you are secure in Christ's promise of salvation, how do you reconcile that promise of salvation with the scriptures that follow? We spend a lot of time focusing on John 3:16, but the same focus doesn't seem to be on scriptures following that such as "if you love me you will obey my commands" and Peter's instruction that believers must repent and be baptized to receive the Holy Spirit? What about where Jesus says in Matthew 7:21-23 " “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’"

I think for many who are terrified of hell, it is these scriptures which raise question or doubts for those who are believers. If you believe, you will desire to please God. You cannot please God unless you obey his commands. "Thou shalt love the Lord they God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

So how can you be so confident and sure you that you are for sure saved and that you will not be one of the ones who is sure they are saved and then have Christ say "depart from me I never knew you"?

I only wish I could have the confidence of those here who say they have no fear of hell, that they are sure they are saved.

God's promises are true (God is perfect and cannot lie) and the Bible says that we will be with Christ for eternity. That's why I'm sure.

I know and love my Lord and my Lord knows and loves me.